Drops of Jupiter
by Andromeda Star
Summary: Makoto wants just one little taste of the one thing she's never had a knack for: loving someone completely. Unfortunately, a certain blonde nuisance keeps standing in her way. Will Makoto throw away her best friend in favor of her one true love?
1. Prologue

**Author's Greeting**: Hello, hello again! I told you I'd be back sooner than you thought. Chapter One is being worked on right now before it's ready, but I figured I'd throw together a quick teaser-in-the-form-of-a-prologue for you. But first, here's the basic story info:

**Title**: Drops of Jupiter

**Synopsis**: Makoto wants just one little taste of the one thing she's never had a knack for: loving someone completely. Unfortunately, a certain blonde nuisance keeps standing in her way. Will Makoto throw away her best friend in favor of her one true love?

**Main characters**: Kino Makoto, Kou Taiki, Aino Minako.

**Pairings**: Now listen here. This is going to be an actual Mako-chan romance where she's _straight_. I'm not homophobic or anything (some of my good friends are gay/lesbian) but it's very hard to find a well-written straight romance about Makoto, so I'm going to be one of those few brave authors who breaks into the rarely-written waters. So, the pairings are as follows: MakoTaiki, slight UsaSeiya, slight UsaMamo, slight YatenOC (it's Chiyoko-chan, of course), and very very very EXTREMELY slight MinaMako, for reasons you will understand soon.

**Just So You Know**: Umm...I'm not explaining anything, because this is meant to make you think.

**

* * *

**

**Prologue  
Goodbye**

"Mako-chan, help me!" the voice calls. I look around, hear oceanic sounds: seagulls, waves, wind.

The cliff, again. Only, this time, it's not merely my dream. I won't wake from this nightmare.

"Onegai..." her voice pleads softly. I look down. Just like the dream, our hands are interlinked. My decision will either save her life...or destroy it.

I glare at the blonde beauty, holding onto me with both hands. "I can't forgive what you've done."

"Mako-chan..."

Looking at her with sorrowful eyes, I let one tear--just one--fall down my cheek, landing on her perfectly propotioned face. My first tear since my parents died. A part of me regrets that it was wasted on my one true enemy.

Suddenly, the cliff starts to crumble beneath me. I shriek as I slide forward, my fingers still intertwined with hers. Suddenly, everything becomes clear. Suddenly, I know what I'll do...

"MAKO-CHAN!!!" she shrieks, my blonde angel. One last tear falls from my face, and rose petals swirl in the air in memoriam of Minako.

* * *

**Author's Sign-off**: Stay tuned for the first episode of **_Drops of Jupiter_**! 


	2. Makoto's Dream

**Author's Greeting**: Moshi-moshi! So, I finished up this chapter...chapter two will be following shortly, I promise. For now, I know i have some explaining to do.  
Thank you to the people who favorited the story or me, and to **Little Miss Cee Cee** for this story's first review.  
By the way, looking for a beta. I do make mistakes, even though I try my hardest not to.

**Disclaimer**: (which I forgot to put in the prologue. Please forgive me) I am Lady Katsu-hime. I am not Takeuchi Naoko-sama, who owns Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon and all related arcs/characters/settings/etc. Therefore, any character/plotline reference/etc. that you recognize from previously stated anime is not mine, and I've never claimed it/them to be. However, the character Tsukino Chiyoko-chan and this plotline are mine.

**Just So You Know**: First off, Chiyoko-chan is my own OC. She was introduced in Eternal Starlight, and continued in My Heart Will Go On. If you'd like to read those, be sure you review. A little background on Chiyoko-chan, first: she's Usagi and Seiya's daughter, come from the Crystal Tokyo era (the 30th century) to visit. She's pretending to be Usagi's cousin from America, using much the same technique as Chibiusa and ChibiChibi did. Usagi knows she's from the future, but nothing else. Chiyoko has a lot of high-tech gear that does some pretty wild stuff. She's dating Yaten-kun, and she is Sailor Eternal Star. She looks extraordinarily like Usagi, except that her hair is jet-black like Seiya's, and she has Seiya's nose. She's very intuitive, and very duty-conscious.  
Just in case you didn't realize already, this is in Makoto's POV.

Okay, now the Japanese dictionary part:  
_Moshi-moshi_ is a general sort of greeting, used when answering the telephone. I know, FF isn't exactly a telephone line, but I like to greet my fans in this way.  
_Onegai_ means _please_.  
_Sempai_ means _upperclassman_. It's also the name Mako-chan uses for her old boyfriend.  
_Gomen_, _Gomen ne_, and _Gomen nasai_ all mean _I'm sorry_.  
Juno is the Roman god of thunder. He's called Zeus in Greek mythology.

* * *

**Chapter One  
Makoto's Nightmare**

_I smell the sea, hear seagulls, feel waves crashing far below. The thunder crashes mightily, and I feel it deep in my bones. So, Juno is warning me, his favorite daughter, of something important. Something I must do. But, just by smelling, hearing, and feeling, I can't tell what it is._

_Wait. Maybe I can. I can feel a weight pulling on my right arm, my left hand braced on the edge of a cliff. Can feel the wind swinging the weight around. My brain tells me to release the weight, let go of all remorse, but my heart says no._

_My heart says that I used to love her…and reminds me of all the times we'd had together._

_My brain intrudes with an all-too-vivid picture of _him_. The source of our squabbling. It provides an image of my last recollection of him, lying facedown on the cold, wet ground, bleeding profusely. My anger flares._

_I hear a whisper, and my anger abruptly whooshes out of me, carried away by the wind. It's her voice…my blonde angel. She is pleading._

"_Onegai…" she whimpers tearfully. "Onegai, Mako-chan!"_

_And suddenly, a thought pops into my head: I am the one with the most control over her existence at this moment. I can choose to release her, and let this fragile soul end its life, or I can use the last of my strength to pull her up, in which case the cliff would probably crumble and we'd both die._

_I am the one with the power. I can either save or destroy a life._

_My eyes open and I stare sorrowfully into her pleading blue eyes._

"_MAKO-CHAN!!!"_

_I never wanted this…_

* * *

It's class time…and I've revisited my nightmare…again. It won't stop haunting me, and I know it's because of him: the one I love even more than my old sempai.

Casually, I glance over to look into his deep blue eyes, more intense than Sempai's lighter eyes.

Unfortunately, my quiet study is rudely interrupted by a loud, obnoxious laugh. Irritated, I glare to a person sitting behind him.

It's_ her_. My rival.

I don't know why she thinks she's good enough to have him. She's spacey, athletic, and she doesn't know him even a quarter as well as I do. He's my best friend. To _her_, he's just a potential boyfriend.

With her temperament, she's much more suited for Seiya-kun. But Seiya-kun has eyes only for our pretty princess, Usagi-chan. Normally, that meant that my rival would have set her sights on Yaten-kun, but he's with Chiyoko-chan, and nothing will break that bond…even Yaten's death didn't break it, because Chiyoko-chan found a way to bring him back after sending Serena-san and her clan home.

"Oh, Taiki-san," _she_ said flirtatiously, leaning towards him, "you say the _funniest _things! Right, Mako-chan?" She turns to give me a malicious smile, and I scowl at her. To think we were once best friends.

I shake my head firmly. "I don't think it was meant to be funny, Minako-chan." I give Taiki-kun a warm smile, and his blue eyes crinkle as he gives me a crooked smile back, his body language clearly thanking me for saving him from a potentially awkward situation; Taiki-kun is too nice to simply push Minako away, and besides, pushing her away would only make her want him more.

I just can't win.

I want to tell Taiki-kun how I feel about him…but I can't. Ever since Sempai ran away and broke my heart, I've had trouble with feelings. And then, Minako and I tried "experimenting"…and almost everyone found out about that, and for the longest time, I was asked out by lesbians who thought I could be their butch. Sorry, I went bi-curious for maybe half a year and I found out that nothing can compare to being held by a man's strong arms, knowing you'll always be safe from harm.

Besides, though I've always envied Haruka-san's love for Michiru-san, and how they kept it like a well-known secret, but I never want the life that Haruka-san has. She likes playing the butch—she says it's much easier being a male than anyone would think—but that's not for me. Besides, how many cross-dressing females can you find who hold life dreams of owning flower shops and restaurants?

I love to cook, and I love the expressions on people's faces when they taste my food. Especially Taiki-san. He's never failed to be astonished by my skill…but I always tell him that having to fend for yourself since your younger days almost guarantees a need to make edible food.

I also love flowers. Their gentle delicacy amazes me, especially when you find a beautiful flower growing in the ground, picturesque, after a hard frost. Flowers are strong, but they're beautiful as well, and I strive to be like a flower in my senshi work.

_BRRRRRRRING!_ The bell rings angrily. I jump to my feet and gather my stuff, getting ready to rush home and change so I can start cooking or tend to my garden.

"Mako-chan." A soft voice calls, just loud enough for my hyper-tuned ears to recognize. Minako cannot hear; she's too busy fuming at my remark.

I look at my brown-haired angel, and with a fraction of a nod, he indicates that he'll be waiting for my call later. He understands that I don't particularly like walking around in public in my school uniform, even if it does signify that I'm a junior this year. I smile and, as I'm leaving, touch his arm lightly, looking him in the eye, letting him know that I'll call as soon as I water my flowers.

At that point I start running, and I let out a yelp of joy when I reach the outside. Finally, I'm free of the prison for the weekend! I'm so distracted by happiness that I don't notice when I bump into someone…knocking the someone over in the process.

"Ouch, Mako-chan!" a familiar voice shrieks. "Did you have to hit so hard?"

I giggle. "Gomen, Chiyoko-chan," I apologize as I help the petite girl up, her raven-black odango-topped ponytails swirling about her.

"So, what happened with Taiki-san today?" Chiyoko-chan asks in her musical, velvety-rich, middle-toned voice.

I do a double-take. "What? How…?"

Chiyoko-chan giggles. "Only two things could have made you this happy, and I know that both probably happened: one, you finally realized that it's the weekend, or two, something happened between you and Taiki-san. Or…" she said thoughtfully. "Option Three, you fought with Minako-chan…and won."

I nod. "Yes, all three…"

Chiyoko-chan looks at me, her sapphire eyes, so like Usagi-chan's, yet so different, conveying many thoughts and feelings, but the overlaying one is sorrow. She doesn't like seeing Minako and I fight, especially over something as petty as a boy.

I don't like seeing us fight, either. Minako and I used to be best friends, and something more while we "experimented." I'd rather not fight with her over Taiki-san…but she was the one who declared war after she saw how much marked attention Taiki-san was paying to me. I remind Chiyoko-chan of this fact nonverbally, and finally she sighs.

"Do what you wish, Mako-chan," she says with a touch of sadness in her voice. "I don't mean to pry into your affairs."

She walks away, towards Usagi-chan's house—which she is living in, since they're cousins. My smile fades as a wind picks up. I can sense a thunderstorm blowing in from the east. I grimace to myself as I walk home. I probably won't have to water my flowers, but that means that Taiki-san and I will have to stay inside, too, if he decides he wants to see me.

Frowning, I continue to walk at a normal pace as the first drops threaten to fall, even as the people around me erupt into panic and flee towards shelter. I laugh at their foolishness. I am Jupiter, daughter of Juno, and I fear no meager thunderstorm. I am his daughter, and he is the powerful god of thunder.

Unfortunately, I have worse things to fear than thunderstorms.

* * *

**Author's Sign-off**: Stay tuned for the next episode of **_Drops of Jupiter_**! 


	3. Cakes and Relationships

**Author's Greeting** and **Random Info**: Moshi-moshi! Here's the second chapter of what hopes to be a well-liked fic.  
By the way, looking for a beta reader/editor, because I do make mistakes, and often times I don't realize them until ten chaps after I've posted the mistaked one. So, my email is posted on my profile, email me if you want to be my beta. Make sure you tell me IN THE SUBJECT LINE who you are (on here, dummy i don't want to stalk you), because I delete anything that's from somebody i don't know. Then, I'll email you the chapters before I post it, and you can check it over, correct my mistakes, and email it back so I can post it up.

**Shout-outs**: First, to babygirl14, my favorite fan, thanks for the 4 reviews, and maybe it was my computer colors, but I always thought Taiki's eyes were deepest blue, almost purple.  
Second, to Broken Gem, thanks for your positive review, and I'll try my best to make this a good fic.

**Disclaimer**: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon and all related characters/arcs/settings/etc. are the property of Takeuchi Naoko-sama. She owns the dolls, I just play with 'em. The lyrics at the beginning of the chapter are from the song "Drops of Jupiter" by Train. I don't the song or the lyrics.

**Just So You Know**: I know that in the anime, Taiki actually goes on a cooking show with Makoto, so we assume he can cook. But, I always thought that he couldn't cook, he just said and did what they told him to do. I always associate Yaten with the more householdy sorts of stuff.

_Daijobu-ka_ means_ Are you alright_? When I use just _daijobu_ (without the -ka) it means _It's/I'm alright_.  
_Baka_ means _idiot_.  
_Nani?_ means _What?  
Onegai_ means _Please_.

* * *

**Chapter Two  
Cakes and Relationships**

_Now that she's back in the atmosphere  
With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey  
She acts like summer and walks like rain  
Reminds me that there's time to change, hey, hey  
Since the return from her stay on the moon  
She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey_

"Taiki-kun," I say into the phone, after hearing his warm voice answer.

"Mako-chan, I can't stand Minako-san anymore. I hate seeing you guys fight, and if she keeps aggravating you, I'm going to flip on her."

I gasp. "You, flip out on someone?"

"I wasn't too fond of Usagi-san, remember? Yaten and I hated her."

"Yeah, I remember…" Before the final battle with Galaxia, Yaten and Taiki—otherwise known as Sailors Star Maker and Star Maker—thought that Usagi-chan stood in the way of achieving their goal: finding their princess, Kakyuu-hime. They set to destroy her association with them…until they got to know the true Usagi-chan, right before the three Starlights and Usagi-chan went up against Galaxia.

"I want to see you, Mako-chan," a whispered voice brings me sharply back to reality. "Are you alright to come over?"

"You mean, 'am I afraid of the thunderstorm,' and the answer is no. Senshi of Lightning, remember? Juno wouldn't hurt his favorite daughter." I roll my eyes.

"But you know the exact power of lightning. Logically, this means you should fear it."

I giggle. "This is an illogical world, Taiki-kun. I mean, look at us: how many women do you find who have magical powers? And, even further, how many of those women willingly leave their home planet and disguise themselves as men?"

Taiki laughs warmly. "True. So, I'll see you soon?"

"I'll let myself in, okay?" Taiki-kun gave me the key to his house months ago, when Yaten-san—the chef in the Starlight Mansion—got sick and could not cook. Taiki-kun and Seiya-san were too afraid to eat even their own creations, so Taiki-kun begged me to come over every night and cook dinner for them; breakfast and lunch were usually eaten out, anyway. Taiki-kun never took back the key, in case of emergency, he said.

Taiki laughs easily again and says, "Okay, Mako-chan. I'll be doing stuff around the house until then."

We say our goodbyes and I hang up, smiling. I change hurriedly, retie my ponytail and make sure it's smooth, and check over my apartment one last time before locking up. I have my bag with me; Taiki's sure to mess something up whilst doing housework or trying to cook. My bag, I might add, includes an extensive recipe book; my keys; my wallet; a hairbrush; a mini-book on plants; a bottle of pepper spray; and a Tide To-Go pen. My henshin wand is kept on my person at all times, either in the inside pocket of my uniform skirt (I sewed it in there myself, just for that purpose) or in a pocket of some sort on my street clothes.

I consider myself well-armed and ready for all situations.

It takes ten minutes to walk quickly to the Starlight Mansion, but today it takes me somewhere around fifteen minutes because of the storm; I don't much like slipping on the wet pavement and cracking my skull. Soon, though, I'm in front of the familiar blue-red-and-yellow-striped metal-and-stained-glass door. I take the key out, open the door and allow my soaked body to enter, carefully removing my wet shoes and shaking out my walnut-brown ponytail. I walk a few steps inside and call out, "Taiki-kun!"

A large crash and an oath of pain from above follow; I roll my eyes and walk up the stairs, trying to find out what in the world he's done now. "Taiki-kun, daijobu-ka?"

Taiki-kun walks out of the kitchen, wide-eyed and covered in flour and minor scratches. "Oh, Mako-chan, you scared me!"

I put my hands on my hips. "I told you I'd let myself in. Now, what have you done to that beautiful kitchen?"

He sheepishly smiles. "I…uhh…I was trying to bake a cake."

I sigh, leaning forward and smacking him lightly on his forehead. "Baka!" I reach into my bag and pull out my recipe book. "Now, am I going to be absolutely horrified when I walk into that room?" I point to the right. He laughs.

Together, we clean up the kitchen, and manage to save the almost-ruined mess of a cake. Several times, Taiki-kun would place his hand on mine (accidentally, he assured), or I would catch him staring at me curiously.

As we're eating the cake—it was a "Death by Fudge" cake—he suddenly asks, "What do you want in a relationship, Mako-chan?"

My fork freezes halfway to my wide-open mouth, a chunk of cake falling with a soft plop to my plate.

I guess he realizes what he said and blushes. "If you don't mind me asking, I mean."

I close my mouth, pondering my answer…should I tell him the truth? What was the meaning of what he said? What did he really want out of me?

"If…" he begins to stutter, "If y-you don't want to answer, that's fine. I was just c-curious is all…"

I shake my head. "I'll answer. I want someone who's not going to judge me by the way I look, or my training habits. I want him to be strong enough to protect me, but not strong enough to kill me if we ever get into a fight; I'm not looking for a muscle man.

"However, I want him to be sensitive to my feelings, and not to goad me when I'm not in a good mood. I also want him to love me unconditionally, and love me until the day comes that we feel the need to be apart.

"I want him to be my best friend, for us to know each and every thing there is to know about each other. Not stalking each other, or jealousy, but just knowing each other's quirks, and stuff like that.

"This is going to sound weird, this last part…" I say, trailing off. I look up and notice that Taiki-kun is basically hanging on to every word that comes out of my mouth.

He shakes his head. "Please, go on, Mako-chan. I really want to know."

I sigh. "I don't want him to want me for my body. Really, I want both of us to be comfortable with the fact that I don't want to have sex until we're married. I don't want to give my flower to anyone until I'm sure he's not going to run away and break my heart, like Sempai did.

"And…right before bed, I want him to hold me close and sing me to sleep."

Taiki-kun's eyes widen. "Mako-chan…"

"I know, I know, it's a little picky, and a little weird, but I really started to shape my ideas of my perfect man after Sempai left me."

Taiki-kun smiles. "I don't think it's weird." He grabs my hand and squeezes it, making me blush.

Suddenly, I glance at the clock. It's 9:30 PM, and I should be getting home. I rise.

Taiki grabs my arm. "No, don't leave, Mako-chan. Onegai."

"I have to, Taiki-kun. My apartment…"

He shakes his head. "Stay here tonight. I can't stand being alone in this big house."

"Aren't Yaten-san and Seiya-san coming home?"

Taiki-kun shakes his head. "They're both at Tsukino-san's house."

"But…my clothes…"

"I'll drive you home, Mako-chan, and you can get clothes and anything else you need. Just stay with me tonight." I look at him, and his deep blue, almost purple, eyes are pleading. I sigh.

"Alright, if only to keep you from going insane."

* * *

That night, I am plagued by the cliff dream, running over and over in my head. Several times I am scared awake, and other times I am too afraid to wake. I'm afraid that when I do wake, I'll find myself on the cliff with a hideous decision to make... 

_"MAKO-CHAN!!!"_ the final scream haunts me, and I jolt awake, cold sweat soaking my hair and face. It echoes in my head horribly, without decreasing in volume. Lightning streaks across the sky, and thunder booms in time with my heart.

My father is worried about me. The rain pours down harder. Juno weeps for me.

"Mako-chan?" Taiki's soft voice calls out from across the hall. "Mako-chan, are you awake?"

"Yeah!"

"Can I come in?" a soft knock accompanies his voice, right up against my door.

I throw on a dressing robe before I say, "Yes."

He walks in, dressed in only blue pajama pants. My heart pounds as I see his muscled chest, bare to my eyes. He sits on the edge of my bed. "Bad sleep?"

My eyes widen. "How did you...?"

"I could hear you screaming in your sleep. You sounded terrified. I checked on you at one point, but I couldn't wake you...you said something about a cliff and said you musn't wake up."

I gasped. So, I'd been murmuring aloud, too scared to wake, to find out if it was really true...

"What were you dreaming?" Taiki asks, wiping away a tear that I didn't know I'd let escape. I haven't cried since...since my parents' deaths.

I try to take a deep breath, but it comes out ragged. "The cliff. My decision. Minako..."

"Nani?"

I look up, willing myself to be strong yet delicate. Like roses. "Can you take me to the Hikawa Shrine in the morning? I need to see Rei-chan."

"Mako-chan, it is morning."

I look at the clock, which says 10:00 AM. Taiki suggests, "Why don't you eat some breakfast and get showered first? Then, we'll go see Rei-san."

I nod, too shaken to respond.

Haunting images of a blonde beauty and a brunette man circle around and around in my head, matching the screams that reverberate between my ears.

_"MAKO-CHAN!!!"_

Too much of this and I'll completely lose my mind.

* * *

**Author's Sign-off**: Hope you enjoyed! Make sure to review, and stay tuned for the next episode of _**Drops of Jupiter**_! 


	4. Senshi Meld

**Author's Greeting** and **Random Info**: Moshi-moshi, minna! Sorry it's taken a little longer to get this one out...I had to figure out my schedule, and where I really wanted to go with this. Please enjoy!  
Still looking for a beta...email me if you want it...and remember to give me your penname in the subject line, so I have a general idea of who the random person emailing me is.

**Shout-outs**: First, to **Broken Gem**, this chapter's first review: Thank you! I know, I'm having trouble putting Mako-chan through this much torture every night. It's a good thing she has Taiki-kun to comfort her... -smiles-  
Second, to **Little Miss Cee Cee**, thanks! I try to keep the chapters a little short for three reasons: 1) so my fans don't have to wait that long for updates, 2) In Eternal Starlight and My Heart Will Go On, I wrote the chapters like epsiodes...there was always a lot of action and things that would take more time up if it was actualyl drawn out and animated. I suppose it's stupid for this one, but it's habit, and 3) self-challenge. I want to see if I can write well and still be concise. Supposedly, it's good practice for SATs and PSSAs, but I wouldn't know... -shrugs-

**Disclaimer**: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon annd all related arcs/characters/settings/etc. is/are owned by Takeuchi Naoko-sama. Obviously, I'm not her, so any character you recognize from previously stated anime has a 99.99999 (percent) chance of not being mine. However, the character Tsukino Chiyoko-chan is mine, as is this plotline. The lyrics are from the song "Drops of Jupiter" by Train. They own the song, not me.

**Just So You Know**: Obviously I made up that number for the steps in front of the Hikawa Shrine.  
Obviously, it was never stated in the anime that Mako-chan is stronger when it's storming...but it played out.

* * *

**Chapter Three  
Senshi Meld**

_Tell me did you sail across the sun  
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded  
And that heaven is overrated...  
_

"Rei-chan!" I call, racing up the five-hundred steps of the Hikawa Shrine. Ami-chan says there're only 300, but it feels like almost twice that.

Taiki-kun is huffing and puffing, falling behind. I am stronger. I have trained in the mountains, and besides that, it's storming. I am definitely stronger when it's storming.

"Rei-chan!"

"Mako-chan? Is that you?" The raven-haired Japanese beauty is standing under the short porch roof, shielding herself in the rain. "What in the world are you doing here in the rain?"

"Taiki-kun drove me. I have to talk to you."

"Who is it, Rei-chan?" a musical voice floats out from just inside the shrine. Suddenly, I see Chiyoko-chan's head pop out of the doorway, her hair let out of its usual odango style.

"Oh, Chiyoko-chan, it's you," I start slightly. "I thought you were with Yaten-kun today?"

Chiyoko-chan shakes her head. "He went home with Seiya-kun this morning, and I wanted to talk to Rei-chan, so I came here…before it started storming." She gives me joking glare; storms are often my fault.

"What did you want to talk about, Mako-chan?" Rei-chan asks as Taiki-kun finally arrives at my side, breathing heavily and erratically.

Suddenly, a great crash of thunder sounds from just overhead, and a loud echo of _"MAKO-CHAN!!!" _accompanies it, stinging through the air like lightning…

Oh, wait. That actually _was_ lightning. I look into Rei-chan's amethyst-colored eyes, hoping she hasn't suddenly acquired the power to break through my mind in a storm. On an ordinary day, it takes her a large amount of power and concentration to break into our minds, so of course, during the days when we're at our strongest, it's near impossible for her. But, with Rei-chan, you just never know…

"Oh…" I begin shakily, hoping that I haven't paused for too long. "Can…we go inside and talk about it? Alone?" I add pointedly as Chiyoko-chan and Taiki-kun lean in interestedly.

Rei-chan nods, but then says, "I won't be able to get a good reading of your mind in this weather. You know that thunderstorms just about close your mind off to me."

We are inside now; I take a seat on the floor in front of her table. Chiyoko-chan is seated there already, and Taiki-kun and Rei-chan join us. "Then, what are we going to do? These storms will continue for quite awhile…" I look outside, getting a feel for the absolute power of the lightning that radiated throughout Tokyo.

Taiki-kun glances out the window as well. "These storms lately have been as bad as any on Kinmoku."

Rei-chan didn't hear him; she's deep in thought. "Mako-chan…" she says slowly, her face tensely calm. "The only way I can see your problem and help you that I can think of right now…" she looks up at me. "Is the Senshi Meld."

"What?" I gasp in a whisper. Taiki-kun cocks his head in confusion.

"What's a Senshi Meld?" he asks.

My eyes are wide as I stare at Rei-chan. She begins to explain, "Three or more senshi…this number's based on Guardian Senshi… join together, and combine both their powers and their minds. Of course, this means that each senshi present for the Meld can see each other's minds. When we do a Sailor Teleport, we are only combining our powers. For this, since there are four of us, we'll also be combining our minds. It's the only way I can think of that will overcome Mako-chan's hyper-sensitive powers."

"R-rei-chan!" I cry, slightly embarrassed. I don't want Chiyoko-chan or Taiki-kun to know what my dream is.

Rei-chan reads more into that one exclamation and understands what I'm going on about. "We need at least three senshi, Mako-chan. If you'd rather Taiki-kun sit out, since he doesn't know the exact science of a Meld…"

I just nod shakily. Taiki-kun groans.

"I was so looking forward to this little peek into your mind, Mako-chan!" he shakes his head. "You're so secretive."

I roll my eyes, and say to Rei-chan, "Let's get this over with."

Rei-chan takes my hand, and Chiyoko-chan grasps my other hand. The two join their other hands, so we're standing in a triangle of sorts, with me at the point.

I look down, concentrating on the immense power locked within my body. Suddenly, I start glowing with a green aura, and the aura forms into my own transparent green energy field. Rei-chan surrounds herself with a similar red sphere, and Chiyoko-chan a silver-and-gold sphere. The spheres are touching each other, wanting so much to connect. I reach my mind out, all the way to the walls of my field, barely brushing against both Rei-chan's and Chiyoko-chan's consciousness.

"GUARDIAN SENSHI MELD!" Rei-chan calls out, and suddenly the walls are down, and our auras blend into each other, red to green, green to gold-silver, gold-silver to red.

Suddenly, I am overburdened by the presence of two extra, quite complex minds. _Summon your dream, Mako-chan._ A voice sounds in my head, and I realize it's Rei-chan's thoughts, speaking to me. I immediately delve into the "Painful Experiences That Should Be Blocked" portion of my brain, and call up my recurring dream.

Suddenly, I am flying in the sky, staring down at my dream. Rei-chan and Chiyoko-chan are beside me, hovering over the familiar scene of the seaside cliff.

_I smell the sea, hear seagulls, feel waves crashing far down below,_ another voice thunders. It's my own…my own voice, narrating my dream.

I look down at myself, the pitiful form clinging to both the cliff and the one person she vowed to protect, so very long ago. The woman who suddenly feels like a small girl, the woman who suddenly has one world on her shoulders…_her_ world.

"_Onegai…" she whimpers tearfully. "Onegai, Mako-chan!"_

I know every word, every inflection, as if it were my name and address. The whole scene, every feeling, every whispered word, every thought…they're all etched into my brain, which is probably why this representation is so vivid.

Rei-chan and Chiyoko-chan both stare at me as a raindrop…or a tear drop…falls from my face, falling so many miles below to hit Dream-Makoto on her cheek.

I know where that drop of water goes. It slides down her cheek, falling on the angel's gorgeous face.

But…I never dreamed it. Maybe a borrowed vision from Rei-chan's mind?

"_MAKO-CHAN!!!"_ the awful scream comes, reverberating off the cliff and the water. I cringe in completely terror of that anticipated shout. Thunder boom across the sky, and suddenly, there are rose petals everywhere, flying about. Where did they come from? I don't remember them…

The images in the dream start fading, so we can't see what really happened to Dream-Makoto and the person she was holding on to, just like in my dream.

"_M…ko-chan…"_ Dream-Makoto whispers, and we can just barely hear her. Even so, I know that Rei-chan and Chiyoko-chan know who she was talking about. Who my dream is about.

And then, it's gone, and the three of us are floating in our blended auras. Rei-chan has her eyes closed, deep in thought, in meditation…

Chiyoko-chan flies over to me, leaving her silvery-gold section to join me in my green one. "Mako-chan…" she whispers. "I had no idea…how long have these dreams been going on?"

"At least a month," I say shakily, drawing my knees up to my chest. "They were the worst last night. Taiki-kun was worried about me…but I didn't want him to know all the details…"

"Of course not." Chiyoko-chan places a comforting hand on my shoulder.

I look over at Rei-chan, and her eyes snap open, full of fire. She looks over at me. "Mako-chan…" she flies over to join us as well. "We're going to end the Meld for now. I need some time…to straighten this out. I'll call Michiru-san…"

I break in hesitantly. "Only you two and Michiru-san can know about it. Please."

"But you know that Hotaru-chan will know already."

I scowl and curse my luck. Of course, I forgot that Hotaru-chan's powers are pretty extensive…she can't read minds, but she gives some pretty powerful prophecies. That little midget has enough power locked up in her to destroy an entire world single-handedly…and she's only twelve. I can't wait to see what she's like when she's older…

"Are you ready to end it, Mako-chan, Chiyoko-chan?" Rei-chan asks, breaking the slight silence. I nod, and Chiyoko-chan mimics me before floating back to her own section. Rei-chan leaves me, and all three of us throw our hands out as far as they can go. I'm surprised that I can still touch their hands…they seem so far away from me.

"GUARDIAN SENSHI…" Rei-chan preps, and I find that immense bubble of power, calling it up. I feel like something is slightly wrong, but I don't make anything of it…probably just my nerves.

"…SEPARATE!!!" Rei-chan calls, and suddenly I'm flying…and out of nowhere, I hear a scream.

"_MAKO-CHAN!!! DON'T LEAVE ME!!!!" _it's _her_ voice, and something grabs me around the waist and pulls me back, away from Rei-chan and Chiyoko-chan.

"No!" I screech, fighting back. "Let me go! LET ME GO!"

I feel Rei-chan's consciousness slipping away, but Chiyoko-chan holds tight. _Mako-chan?_ Chiyoko-chan asks in thoughts.

"_Go away, wretch,"_ her voice sounds scornful, and Chiyoko-chan's consciousness is pushed away. I reach out frantically, trying to reach them, trying to get back.

"Rei-chan!" I scream. "REI-CHAN! CHIYOKO-CHAN!"

But I know it's no use. I'm trapped within my own mind, held captive by my nightmares, and I'll never see them again.

* * *

**Author's Sign-off:** What will happen to Makoto? Will Rei and Chiyoko be able to save their friend? Find out in the next episode of **_Drops of Jupiter_**! 


	5. Crumbling Walls

**Author's Greeting** and **Random Info**: Moshi-moshi! I'm really really REALLY sorry that this chapter didn't get up so quickly. I had the file half-completed, and I think when I saved it before, I was half-asleep and saved it to the completely WRONG folder in the WRONG directory...which is a bad thing with my huge halfway-to-organized computer system. So, I couldn't even find the stupid file, let alone finish it...and then school got hectic, and all this stuff went on...but now, it's okay! My life is sorting itself out, and I found the file, and finished it! REVIEW OR I'LL MURDER YOU. (just kidding)  
STILL looking for a beta reader/editor. If I don't have one by Chapter Ten, this story will stay beta-less...this means MY Chapter Ten, not the numbers FF assigns to my chapters. If you wanna be this story's beta, EMAIL ME. My email is on my Bio/Profile.

**Shout-outs**: First to **babygirl14** (of course!), ARIGATOU for returning from the dead (resurrections of my favorite fans make me smile). Love your constant reviews, positive comments, and the occasional question of editorial nature that I never thought of.  
To **AnimeLover5995**: funny that you mentioned insanity...  
To **Little Miss Cee Cee**: I love writing cliffhangers -smiles- and they all have to be OOC or else my whole plan just doesn't work..because ordinarily Minako wouldn't be so mean, nor would Taiki be so sweet, or anything else. But they have to be. You'll see...later on.  
To **Broken Gem**,** heartqueen**, and **l-annethunder**: thank you for the positive reviews! It really encourages me to write (if I can find the file teehee)

**Disclaimer**: Takeuchi Naoko-sama: _noun_. The owner of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon and all related arcs/characters/settings/etc. Any character that you see here that you also recognize from previously stated anime (i.e. everyone EXCEPT Chiyoko-chan) is owned by her.  
Train: _noun_. The artist of the song "Drops of Jupiter," the lyrics of which are being used in this chapter. They own the lyrics and the song.  
Lady Katsu-hime: _noun_. A random FF writer who owns the character Tsukino Chiyoko-chan and the plotlines of any story she writes. She claims no ownership of anything other than the two things she's stated above.

**Just So You Know**: Um...there's nothing to explain. If you find something questionable, review!

* * *

**Chapter Four  
Crumbling Walls**

_Now that she's back from that soul vacation  
Tracing her way through the constellation, hey, hey  
She checks out Mozart while she does tae-bo  
Reminds me that there's room to grow, hey, hey_.

"REI-CHAN!! CHIYOKO-CHAN!!" I shout, trying to get back to them…but something holds very tightly to my consciousness, refusing to release me.

"No, Mako-chan…"_ her _voice whispers malevolently. "You're not leaving me ever again."

"But I haven't left you!" I cry in defiance. What is this facet of my brain trying to tell me?

Just then, I get a flash of a vision: _Minako's blonde hair flying down, reaching toward me as her hand is doing. She is getting father and farther away…_and the vision is gone.

But that never happened. Not in my dreams, or in reality. "I haven't left you, Minako!"

"You have," her voice is accusing. "You've left me. I don't want you to leave again."

"Minako…" I groan, and then a sudden realization hits me. Minako is not really there. It's simply impossible, because she was never present for the Meld. She can't possibly be invading my mind, holding me back physically. I'm talking, even arguing, with my own consciousness.

The alleged First Sign of Madness has hit me.

"Mako-chan…" she whispers again, close to my ear. I wave my hand in the air impatiently.

"Go away, Minako. I'm trying to think."

Madness. Have I really gone mad? Have these nightmares driven me so close to the edge of sanity that the fragile wall between Sane and Insane is cracking?

If I think about it, I can say that I've always been mad. One has to be in order to stay a Sailor Senshi for any length of time…and love what one does. I must be mad to think that Taiki-kun loves me.

But I've always been controlled, always been able to seem sane, even when I'm really not. Is this final defense against Total Insanity breaking down? My concrete wall between Controllable and Uncontrollable Lunacy is finally starting to crack?

It can't be.

Suddenly, I feel a portion of my brain being closed off from the rest; Minako's voice has left me to brood, and I've a lot to think about.

I don't know how long I sit there, thinking about madness; there's no concept of time in my own deranged mind. I may have been here for six minutes, or six weeks, before Minako comes back, whispering to me.

"Mako-chan…" she begins, not nicely at all, "You know that Taiki-san doesn't love you. Your chasing after flashes of dreams again, Mako-chan. Remember what happened last time, with your Sempai?"

My eyes widen at the memory, and tears threaten to spill from my eyes. I blink and hold them back; my tears will not be wasted on Sempai.

"Come back to me, Mako-chan," she wheedles. "We were happy. I never dreamed of hurting you."

I try my hardest to ignore her. "I'm straight, Minako. I tried for a little while, but it's not the same, Minako. I tell you, I'm _straight_." I stop, realizing that I'm trying to convince myself just as hard as I'm trying to convince "Minako." Is it the Second Sign of Madness?

Tears flood my eyes again, but do not spill. They know better than that. "No. I'm not bi. I'm not, Minako. Sempai broke my heart, and though you tried to pick up the pieces, they're still not together, still not whole. But they become whole whenever I'm around Taiki-kun, if only for a second or two. I…" But that portion of my brain is closed again. I am not talking to "Minako" anymore.

I look sadly up, but whether it is really up or not, I'm not sure. I'm not sure of anything anymore.

And it's starting to kill me.

* * *

I am there for several more hours (I think, because there's no concept of time where I am), and Minako never bothers me. That partition of my brain has been ignored for awhile, to the point that I almost forget it exists.

Finally, the walls are let down, and she startles me, asking me what the problem is.

"I don't know, Minako," I say in distress. "I'm so confused…Taiki-kun…"

"Don't worry, Mako-chan. He'll never hurt you again, because you'll never see him again."

My eyes widen in fear. "No."

She whispers malevolently, "Yes, Mako-chan, my love. You're going to stay here with me and be mine forever."

"No!" I curl up, sobbing without tears. "I want to see Taiki-kun. My best friend…how can I live without my best friend?

"Taiki-kun…Taiki-kun!" I cry, my voice breaking in sadness. My power reaches out, byond the boundaries of my little world, and I touch a consciousness, brushing against it. I push Minako away and slam all my mental being into the wall that separates me from my salvation.

The walls still do not yield to me, and I sense that the person on the other side is afraid of me and my heightened powers, does not know who I am or what I'm trying to do. I desperately call out with my mind, "I am Makoto, daughter of Juno, the god of thunder! I'm trying to get free!"

The walls weaken a little, but they still cannot break through to me. There is warmth that surges through the cracks, flooding through me, and I recognize the consciousness at once. I reach out and push with everything I have, calling, "_TAIKI-KUN!!!_"

The walls smash, blue pours into my green, and I tumble through the mush of blue and green, through the blue, through nothingness…

The last fervent echo I hear before I pass out is, _"MAKO-CHAN!!!"_

* * *

"Mako-chan!" I hear vaguely. I can't register the voice.

"This is why Senshi Melds are so uncommon, and why Mako-chan was afraid of doing it in the first place. Too often, senshi get trapped in their own minds and go insane, while their body slowly wastes away." A small wisp of a thought enters my brain: Rei-chan. I can't remember who Rei-chan is, or what she looks like.

"Is she okay, Rei-chan? She's not…" Another thought enters: the image of a short girl with blonde odango-topped ponytails and startling sapphire eyes. I don't know who she is.

"No. I thought for a while that she might be gone, since she was trapped for a good six hours or so, but she wouldn't have tried so hard to get to Taiki-san if she had gone insane." A flash of raven-black hair, a hint of amethyst-colored eyes…this is all I remember of that voice.

"How long will she be unconscious, Ami-chan?" the voice of the blonde girl speaks. I still can't remember her name, though I have a feeling of warmth, friendly love, and loyalty for this person.

"It won't be long now; I expect that she might be able to hear us now, even though she might not be completely with it yet," the next girl speaks, and I assume it is the Ami-chan that the blonde girl spoke to. A quick image of short blue hair and the memory of a quiet demeanor flash through my head, but disappear before I can grab it and delve into the memories.

"Mako-chan?" the first voice asks in concern, but I don't know who she is, or who Mako-chan is. "Can you hear us?"

"Mako-chan?" a new, masculine voice speaks. Taiki-kun. Suddenly, everything comes flooding back: Chiyoko-chan, Rei-chan, the Senshi Meld, Minako…and Taiki-kun. Taiki-kun is my savior, and my escape comes into sharp relief as my eyes snap open.

_I tumble into Taiki's blue-colored consciousness, and he pulls me and my insane mind back to reality, where I find myself too weak to stand, even during the storm. I collapse on the floor and vaguely feel Rei-chan, Chiyoko-chan, and Taiki-kun lift me to Rei-chan's bed. I don't remember seeing or hearing Usagi-chan and Ami-chan arrive._

"Mako-chan! You're awake!" Usagi-chan exclaims ecstatically. I sit up weakly, feeling my hair flowing around my face. I push it back, angrily; when did it come out of its ponytail?

Chiyoko-chan automatically gives me my green hair tie, and I try to pull my hair back, but Taiki-kun stops me. "Oh, don't, Mako-chan," he pleads. "Your hair looks so nice down."

I let my hands fall to my lap, startled by his comment, and blink at him. I haven't left my hair down (other than while sleeping) in years. It feels so weird to have the chocolate-brown mass swinging around me. I haven't realized how long my hair really is; unbound, it falls neatly to my waist.

I shake my head, making my hair swirl around lightly. "Rei-chan, Ami-chan…" I say, looking at each of them in turn. "Am I going to be okay?"

The both nod. Ami-chan says, "There hasn't been any physical damage to your person, other than weakness, which you can easily overcome."

Rei-chan continues, "Psychologically, I'd say you're okay, as well. If you'd gone insane, you'd have never returned, or even tried to return, from your own mind."

I think about my escape for a moment. "Why was it so hard to break into Taiki-kun's mind?"

Taiki-kun answers, "I had my defenses up. We all did."

"We were afraid that a new enemy might be invading your mind, and didn't want all of us to be overtaken before we could warn Usagi-chan," Chiyoko-chan adds on, looking at her cousin. "She arrived a little after you didn't return. All three of us tried to reach you, but with the storm…" Chiyoko-chan gestures outside, and I see that the storm is still raging, even more powerfully than before.

I nod, accepting their answers. But I know that Rei-chan is wrong…I've already gone insane.

And the madness is just starting.

* * *

**Author's Sign-off**: Stay tuned for the next episode of **_Drops of Jupiter_**! 


	6. Flute, Voice, Music, Decisions

**Author's Greeting** and **Random Info**: Moshi-moshi! Sorry I'm taking so long in getting these up...but my life is still busy, and i can't always write every day. I try, really I do, but when I'm babysitting, marching with the band, and trying to keep my grades up at the end of the first quarter, it's a little hard, ne?  
Anyway, I'm still looking for a beta reader/editor, and for those of you who do not know what that is...(coughcough**babygirl14**coughcough)...I'll email you the chapters "hot off the press," and you'll go through them, picking out any errors I mgiht have, email it back, and I'll post it. It helps me get an insight of my mistakes, and besides, the beta might get a mistake that I overlooked. My email's on my Bio/profile, email me if you want to be my beta for this story and/or my newest one, **_Memories of Serenity_**. Make sure you put your penname in the subject line, though, otherwise I'm just going to delete the email.  
Also, **Shoutouts** will not be placed in this beginning section anymore. From now on, every few chapters, I'll devote a whole "chapter" to shoutouts. Takes up less space up here.

**Disclaimer**: Takeuchi Naoko-sama owns Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon and all related characters/arcs/settings/etc. She's got the nicest dolls and the best dollhouse in the world...I just play with them. I do, however, own the character Tsukino Chiyoko-chan/Sailor Eternal Star and the plotline of this story. Today's lyrics are from the song "Come Clean" by Hilary Duff. (not my choice of music, but the lyrics match this chapter better than "Drops of Jupiter")

**Just So You Know**: Temko-sensei isn't from BSSM, but I claim no ownership of him, because he's only a "mention-in-passing" character.  
I realize that the musical outburst scene throws Makoto and Taiki even further out of character, but it holds a purpose. You'll see.  
The reference to Ail and En is, of course, from Sailor Moon R, the first like ten episodes or whatever. I liked it, even though that plotline was rather short since it was only a filler.

* * *

**Chapter Five  
Flute, Voice, Music, Decisions**

_Let the rain fall down and wake my dreams.  
Let it wash away my sanity.  
'Cause I wanna feel the thunder  
I wanna scream.  
Let the rain fall down  
I'm coming clean..._

I walk into my first-period class on Monday, feeling relieved that I was able to return to reality. I'm feeling relieved for another reason as well: I asked Rei-chan about it, and she said that Taiki hadn't gotten more than a faint glimpse at my thoughts, since I passed out so quickly. So, he doesn't know my true feelings for him, or about my nightmare.

I am still an enigma to him.

My peaceful mood is pierced abruptly the second I step into the classroom; Minako has let out an extra-annoying snicker, one that will carry down the hall so that the principal could hear it if he dared open his door.

"Aino-san!" Temko-sensei shouts. "Quiet down!"

She immediately shuts up, blushing furiously as everyone stares at her, and I feel safe enough to walk in, a hint of a smile showing on my face. Serves her right.

Taiki-kun isn't in this class. It makes no difference for me, but I've noticed a marked decline in Minako's grades in every class she has with Taiki-kun. She really needs to get her mind off Taiki-kun, especially if it's going to eventually affect her senshi work.

Our lesson begins, and my thoughts quickly shift to the "fascinating" angles and numbers that are on the board.

* * *

At lunch, I take my homemade meal and wander around aimlessly, hoping that Usagi-chan and the others will get the hint: I don't want to sit and chat today. 

A beautiful sound floats by my ears and I stop, listening, trying to figure out what it is that I'm hearing. It dawns on me suddenly: music. It's music, and played by a flute, probably. I mean a proper flute this time, not like the weirdo one that Ail played all the time, trying to woo Usagi-chan and make En jealous.

It's a happy little tune, spirited and flighty, and it comes from my right. I turn that direction and follow the music, wondering who could be playing such a glorious song.

Across the courtyard, up the steps that will lead me to the roof of our lowest building, I wander about, searching for the flautist. I round a corner…and freeze.

The flute player keeps on, eyes closed, not noticing me. I must have been quiet, or else the player was immersed in the music to the point that everything else was inaudible.

I blink, not sure whether I should say something or not. Then, an idea pops into my head, and I do something I haven't done in front of any person for a long time.

I sing.

Raising my voice in countermelody with the flute, weaving my harmonies around the melody, it all gives me such a thrill that I remember the joy I used to get in singing. I remember preparing for talent shows with glee, and my voice becomes joyous instead of hesitant, matching the flute in expression.

The flute player stops, hearing my voice, and turns to me, surprised. Letting the arm holding the instrument fall, the player stares at me as I finish my phrase. "Mako-chan?"

I nod, blinking at the flautist.

"What are you doing here?" the player asks.

I reply, "I heard music, and figured I'd find out who was playing."

"I…didn't know…you could sing…so beautifully." The flautist stammers. "You have a gorgeous voice."

I take a step towards the player. "I didn't know you could play flute so wonderfully, Taiki-kun."

Taiki-kun smiles sloppily. "Well, I'm an international idol. Did you think I played only one instrument?"

"One instrument, multiple tunes," I reply, and he knows my meaning: he is a successful idol, but he does many other things besides performing.

Taiki-kun steps toward me. "Where did you learn to sing like that? And why haven't I heard it before?"

"I used to take voice lessons when I was small…the technique never left me. As for your not hearing it…" I flash him a mischievous smile. "Why would I steal Minako's limelight?

"In fact," I continue, looking down. "Usagi-chan and the others don't even know that I can sing. I've never sang for them, properly or not. The only other one besides you who knew I can was…" I step backward. "Was…"

I cannot continue. Memories of my time with Sempai flood my head as tears flood my eyes—never spilling, but there all the same—and I turn and run, ignoring Taiki-kun's confused shout.

* * *

"Mako-chan?" I hear, many hours later, in my room. I look up, towards my doorway, to find Artemis standing there, a worried expression on his face. 

Ever since Minako and I became close, Artemis has not only been Minako's special cat, he's been mine. Technically, he's supposed to look after the princess, but Usagi-chan already has Luna looking after her as Sailor Moon. So, Artemis stayed with Minako, and he and I have become close confidantes, even friends.

I'm friends with a talking cat. It's simply madness.

"What's up, Artemis?" I ask, gesturing for him to jump up on the bed beside me. He does, fixing me with a solemn stare, more catlike than anything I've ever seen him do. Thunder crashes overhead; the constant storms have not stopped. Juno must be worried about me.

"Mako-chan, are you and Mina…" Artemis begins hesitantly (he calls Minako "Mina"), "going to be okay? She keeps coming home with stories about Taiki-san and you, and keeps confusing me."

"Oh, Artemis, I don't know…" Suddenly, in an uncharacteristic show of emotion, I find myself scooping Artemis up in my arms. He's surprised, too; he lets out a tiny mewl of shock as he flies through the air into my arms. "I don't want us to fight anymore. Minako used to be my best friend. But it seems like ever since she found out the Taiki-kun and I are close, she's been competing with me. But I don't want it to be a competition anymore. I want Minako back…" I stroke Artemis, holding the pure-white cat close. He purrs comfortingly, and the Moon Mark on his tiny forehead glows slightly, emitting a wave of warmth that sweeps over me, calming me down.

"It'll be okay, Mako-chan," Artemis soothes me. "I'm sure it will."

"But what if it isn't?" I whisper fearfully. "What will I do?" In my mind, I revisit the cliff. Will I let one fragile soul drop into the abyss?

"_MAKO-CHAN!!!"_ The terrible shriek comes. Again, I see rose petals. When did that happen?

I rock slightly, holding Artemis closer. "Minako…Taiki-kun…Which one…" I whisper, silent sobs tearing through my body. "Which one do I choose?"

In my mind, Dream-Makoto's hand slips, eliciting a startled gasp from the blonde angel. Her grip is shaky, her mind a turmoil of decisions. Will she let the angel fall? Or will she use the last of her strength to save the angel, sacrificing her own life by doing so?

Memories of Minako flood my brain, mixed with the image of Sempai, my Sempai…my first love. Then the images of Taiki-kun add themselves, and I find myself looking over all of them, wrought with confusion. Sempai is my first love…but which of these three is my true love?

"Which one…should I choose?"

* * *

**Author's Sign-off**: What's going to happen to Makoto now? And, who knew that Taiki could play flute or that Makoto could sing? Stay tuned for the next episode of **_Drops of Jupiter_**! 


	7. It's Not That Easy

**Author's Greeting** and **Random Info**: Moshi-moshi! I hope you like this one!  
Okay, so, I know that I said that I wouldn't close beta-applications until Chapter Ten, but I figured out that this story isn't going to be as long as Eternal Starlight or My Heart Will Go On, so I'm closing them...now. This story is now beta-less.  
Also, next chapter will be shoutouts to my fans...for the reviews from like two chapters ago until now. It'll go up by Wednesday, and I'l include whatever reviewers I have for this chapter by then. so...REVIEW.

**Disclaimer**: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon and all related arcs/settings/characters is owned by Takeuchi Naoko-sama. The lyrics of the song "It's So Easy" (which is included in the chapter, not at the beginning like usual) are owned by the song artist, Sheryl Crow. I claim ownership only to the plotline of this story and the character Tsukino Chiyoko-chan.

**Just So You Know**: Okay, so I realize I just turned Mako-chan and Taiki into Haruka and Michiru. But, if you think about it, Mako-chan and Taiki are kind of a downgraded version. Besides, Makoto's not public with her music, and she's less mission-oriented as friend-oriented.  
_Aishiteru_ means _I Love You_.

* * *

**Chapter Six  
It's Not That Easy**

My confusion continues all week, and only my protesting stomach urges me to get up and feed myself every day. I need not worry about the plants; Juno lets his rage go on. The weathermen say that it's a tiny monsoon, and if it persists much longer, then the lower-lying areas will have to evacuate. I feel partially responsible.

But I can't quiet the inner storm within me, no matter how hard I try. If I get it to the point where it's only a sprinkle, Minako or Taiki-kun shows up and says something that rouses me into a full-blown thunderstorm again.

It's Saturday, and I'm home, thinking about my decision, when the phone rings beside me, startling me. I pick it up, mumbling, "Moshi-moshi, Kino residence," into the receiver.

"Mako-chan?" Usagi-chan's voice asks concernedly.

"Yes, Usagi-chan?"

Usagi-chan stammers a bit. "Well, I was just wondering if…you were okay."

I sigh. Usagi-chan may be intellectually deficit, but she's pretty perceptive at times. "Yeah. I was just thinking about taking a walk."

"In this rain, Mako-chan?" Usagi-chan mothers me. "Are you nuts?"

"Hey, I'm Juno's favorite, remember? Nothing to fear."

Usagi stutters, "B-b-but you'll get soaked! And then you'll get sick…"

"I'll be fine, Usagi-chan. I'll see you guys tomorrow at the meeting." We Guardian Senshi—and the Starlights—get together weekly for a senshi meeting, even if there's no danger. It's basically just a way to relax and talk to all of those who are at different schools—like Rei-chan, Haruka-san, and Michiru-san—and those who aren't in school at all—like Setsuna-san and Mamoru-san.

I grab my coat—it's a little chilly outside—but leave my bag in the house; I doubt I'll need a Tide To-Go pen at the school's auditorium.

Another little-known skill that I have is being able to play piano. Now, I can't play as well as Haruka-san, but she says my strength lies in the composition department. When I need to blow off steam, I compose unknowingly. My feelings come out on the keys.

I see the school ahead, and head around to the secret door by the music room and the auditorium. Only the music teachers and I know about it, and it's always kept unlocked for circumstances such as this. I slip into the music room and go through the door that connects the music room to the auditorium, where Juuban High School's glorious grand piano sleeps. I sit on the bench, letting my thoughts whoosh out of me as a general calmness takes their place. I'm in no mood to compose, so I select a song that I know very well. It's by an American singer, but I can sing it very well, with no accent. And so, I begin "It's So Easy" by Sheryl Crow.

_All I want to know  
is when you go  
do you think of me?  
'Cause I could let you go  
but there'd be a hole  
where my heart used to be._

_It's so easy holding you near.  
I could melt in your arms and disappear.  
Loving you baby is breaking my heart tonight.  
It's so easy but it isn't right._

_I saw you today.  
You walked away  
and I couldn't breathe  
'cause I know how it will feel.  
It¹s a love so real  
when you're touching me._

_It's so easy holding you near.  
I could melt in your arms and disappear.  
Loving you baby is breaking my heart tonight.  
It's so easy but it isn't right._

_Every night I lay here alone  
after you leave me and go home.  
She doesn't know that we can't let go  
and it's hurting me so…_

_It's so easy holding you near.  
I could melt in your arms and disappear.  
Loving you baby is breaking my heart tonight.  
It's so easy but it isn't right…_

_Baby it's so easy._

I run over that song a few times, belting my lungs out, knowing that no one but the janitors will be in the school. It leaves a poignant note echoing around the huge room as I let the last note die away.

Only then do I feel another presence in the room. I whip my head to the right, towards the large double doors leading to the hallway, and blink.

Minako.

Silent tears are streaming down the angelic face of my former best friend. Her hair is soaked, turning it to a dirty blonde rather than the perfect golden shade it truly is. Her clothing is dry, but the long overcoat she has unbuttoned is dripping wet.

She is the only person—other than Sempai and Taiki-kun—who knows I can sing. She and Sempai are also the only people in the world who know that I can play piano. She encouraged me, even, unlike Sempai who merely degraded my meager talent.

She takes a step forward, whispering shakily, "Mako-chan…"

That's it, folks. Kino Makoto is officially dying inside.

I'm suddenly walking toward her, but I don't remember even getting up from the piano. I stop a foot from her, not wanting to go any further.

She's hurt me. She's hurt me by turning this Taiki-kun thing into a competition. She's hurt me by rejecting my friendship. At this point, I'm so distressed that she hurts me by simply existing.

My heart cannot possibly shatter into tinier pieces.

Minako looks at me, her clear blue eyes washed out with the crystal tears she releases. "Mako…chan…"

I look sadly at her, saying nothing. My voice echoes in my head, weaving around my thoughts. The horrific scream from my dreams resonates, joining the song, punctuating phrases.

"_MAKO-CHAN!!!"_

_It's so easy holding you near…_

I clap my hands to my head, hoping to squash my thoughts to nothing. But, instead of quieting, my inner storm flares and rages. Thunder booms overhead.

"No…" I whisper to myself, forgetting that Minako is standing right there. "Get out of my head!"

"Mako-chan?" Minako asks worriedly. My eyes are closed, but I can hear that her tears have ceased for the moment.

I drop to my knees, clutching my head, wanting the dreams and memories to just go away. "Get out! Leave me alone!" I say, and even I can hear how mental that sounds.

Madness. Am I slipping into madness?

"_Stop that yowling that you call singing,"_ Sempai's voice fills my head.

"_Mako-chan, your voice is beautiful!"_ Now it is Minako_. "You should go out for the talent show!"_

"_I never knew that you could sing so beautifully,"_ Taiki-kun says, his warmth flooding my heart.

Minako: _"You're really cute when you're concentrating…"_

Taiki-kun: _"Oh, don't pull your hair back. It looks so pretty when it's down…"_

Sempai: _"You're gorgeous, my little flower."_

Taiki-kun: _"I love your laugh. It makes me smile."_

Minako: _"Mako-chan, I don't know how I could live without seeing your smiling face every day. You're so cheerful, and it makes everyone's day a little brighter."_

Sempai: _"You're an enigma, Mako-chan. Sometimes, I get a glimpse of the true Makoto when I look in your eyes, and just the fact that there's a whole other side to you that I haven't seen…it excites me."_

Taiki-kun: _"I was looking forward to a peek into your brain…"_

Minako: _"Do you like Taiki-san?"_

Minako: _"Aishiteru, Mako-chan!"_

Minako: _"Oh, Taiki-san, you say the funniest things!"_

Minako: the one kneeling next to me, trying to take me into her arms for a hug. I'm screaming in mental agony, pushing her arms away, yelling at her to get the hell away from me.

And suddenly I'm running, away from Minako, away from the auditorium, away from the school. I'm not running towards Taiki-kun's house, or my house, or anyone's house that I know of.

But I keep running. I run and run and run until I can run no more, and then I walk. And when my legs collapse from sheer exhaustion, I crawl until I faint from tiredness, and the blessed unconsciousness sweeps over me, overwhelming my senses and nullifying them. And then I remember no more.

* * *

**Author's Sign-off**: Where is Makoto? Why was Minako at the auditorium in the first place? What is going on in Makoto's mind? Find out in the next episode of _**Drops of Jupiter**_! 


	8. SHOUTOUTS

**Author's Greeting**: Moshi-moshi! So, this is a shout-out chapter. There'll be only one more of these before the end of the story, so make sure you review if you want to get featured!

To **Little Miss CeeCee**: Ha, it's okay if you don't keep up with your email. I try, but sometimes my schedule leaves me with little "me" time. If you don't mind me asking, what don't you understand? Torn between wanting it to end and not wanting to see the end...I've been in that situation before. Thanks for your positive reviews!

To **Elara**: From your review on my Chapter Four...it's fine if your schedule delays you time to sit down and really relax and all that stuff...it's happening to me right now. From your Chapter Six review...thank you so much. It's encouraging to see that you like the story.

To **AnimeLover5995**: No, I'm not making people vote for the pairings. If you want to voice your opinion, that's fine, but I do have a vague plan of where I want this to go. And, just so you know, it was never a MakoMina romance. Look at the prologue, under the "Pairings" section. But, on another note, thanks for your positive reviews!

To **l-annethunder**: I try as hard as I can to not have spelling errors...but sometimes they slip in and my spell-check doesn't catch them. I'm glad to know it's not so bad that it takes away from the effect of the story. Trying to update pretty quickly, because I don't like to make people wait :)

AND TO MY FAVORITE (I saved the best for last, see?), **babygirl14**: wow. simply wow. In order to reply to EVERY SINGLE review you leave me, I'd have to give you your own chapter, and I don't think that'd be fair to the other people. You encourage me so much, and you make me giggle sometimes. Every time I see an email from FF in my inbox about a review from you, I smile even before I read it. You remind me so much of me it isn't even funny lol. (You really should see me when I'm not trying to be formal and stuff). I WEAR GLASSES TOO! I have since like forever and now they're so much a part of me that when I started wearing contacts, my friends all thought I was a different person. Okay so your paragraph is a lot longer, and I don't want to ramble, so I'm ending it here, even though these sentiments are even half of what I truly think about you, babygirl14!

Hope you guys liked your shoutouts...next chapter will be following shortly.


	9. Darkness

**Author's Greeting**: Moshi-moshi! Hope you liked your shoutouts last "chapter." Here's the chapter I promised.

**Disclaimer**: Okay, by now you know that Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon and all affiliated characters/arcs/settings belong to Takeuchi Naoko-sama, and that the only things I claim to own are this plotline and the character Tsukino Chiyoko-chan, so I'm going to stop saying it every chapter. The only thing I will say is what song the chapter lyrics are from...and today's are from "Stand in the Rain" by Superchick.

**Just So You Know**: Originally, I didn't intend Sempai to be more than a mention-in-passing character, but apparently my plans have changed. I still don't think he'll be important, so I'm not going to bother giving him a name.

* * *

**Chapter Seven  
Darkness**

_She never slows down.  
She doesn't know why but she knows  
that when she's all alone  
it feels like it's all coming down..._

"_Mako-chan…"_ my subconscious mind hears.

Taiki-kun? Is that you?

"_Aishiteru, Mako-chan!"_

Minako?

"_Mako…chan…"_

"…_so cute when you're concentrating…"_

No. No!

"…_so pretty when it's down…"_

Get out of my head!

"Mako-chan, are you alright?"

Am I really hearing this voice? Or is it another hallucination? Is it another one of the visions, the memories that drove me to flee, hoping to leave my disturbing thoughts behind?

Oooh! Something cold on my forehead! I shiver involuntarily.

"No, no, Mako-chan. Please don't move. You'll just drive your fever even higher."

I know that voice. I know I know that voice. I stir slightly, willing my consciousness to return.

A hand on my shoulder stops me. "I just told you not to move, Mako-chan. The best thing for you to do is rest."

Is…is that…?

I open my eyes to see a mop of blond hair and dark brown eyes, set in an angular face that nevertheless generates kindliness. A beautiful face, even for a male. And brown eyes glitter at me.

I know those eyes. "S-sempai?" I ask hesitantly, and my throat burns as I utter the word.

He places a finger on my lips, hushing me. I take a moment to try to determine where I am. I know I collapsed in the forest, so why am I so warm? Why do I feel softness around me?

I turn my head to the left and then to the right. I am in a bed, in a small wooden room. The whole place looks shabby, but it's well-built and snug. Is this where Sempai has been living ever since he left me? Why did he save me?

"Sempai? Are you there?" I ask, feeling a sense of loneliness wash over me. He immediately appears, his face oozing concern.

"What is it, Hanako-chan?"

Hanako-chan. It was his special nickname for me, when we were young and in love…he called me his "little flower child". I close my eyes for a second, driving out the memories, before speaking. "Sempai, where am I? Why am I here?"

He places a cool hand on my arm as he replies, "You are in my humble home. I work with wood carving now, so it seemed logical for me to be as near my source of work as possible. Two days ago, I was out collecting trees that had been felled by the lightning and I heard someone gasp and fall. It was you, Hanako-chan, so I brought you back here, and have been nursing you ever since."

"T-two days?!?" I sit up quickly, gasping. Sempai looks alarmed and tries to push me back down, but I brush his hand away. "I missed the meeting!"

"Meeting?" Sempai asks, but I shake my head, starving off any further questions.

I can't believe I missed the senshi meeting. Usagi-chan is going to be so worried, and Minako will tell her everything that happened that day in the auditorium...

There's probably a Tokyo-wide senshi search for me. But they won't think to look in the woods.

Or…maybe Rei-chan might think to look in the woods, considering I'm most comfortable around plants and storms.

"Sempai-kun, I have to go." I get out of bed, a little less gracefully than usual, but of course, Sempai notices.

"Hanako-chan, you need to rest a while yet. You were mad with fever. Perhaps it is best if you stayed in a quiet, natural environment for a while longer, get your mental prowess back."

What? I'd been that stark-raving mad, that it had brought on fever? A fever so bad that it had led me to even more crazy exclamations?

"Wh…what did I say?" I ask a little shakily, sitting down on the bed again. Sempai comes and sits next to me, shaking his dirty blond hair out of his glittering brown eyes.

"Well, I didn't completely understand it all..." he began, and I brace myself for the bad news. "Who is this Taiki?" he asks, a little jealously.

Oh, Kami-sama…he knows, he knows, he knows…

My brain freezes during this moment, and I cannot speak.

"Hanako-chan?" Sempai places a hand on my shoulder, but I immediately brush it away. Time to go.

I walk over to the door, pausing in the doorway to deliver a parting word, "Don't call me Hanako-chan. My name is Makoto." And I leave, without waiting for a reply from him.

* * *

I lope easily through the forest, wanting to get out of the incessant rain, but liking the fact that the cold droplets cool my face, making me hold the tears back. I feel lightning strike just behind me, and I gain strength from the flash of light and heat. I feel like I can endure anything.

THUMP! Except that.

"Mako-chan?" A familiar voice inquires as I stumble back a few steps, rubbing my head. I'll have a bump there tomorrow.

I look up, seeing long, dark hair pulled back in a shiny ponytail and questioning blue eyes. A tear almost leaks out of my eye as I silently crush against him, wanting this nightmare to be over.

He places awkward arms around me, not sure anymore, since I've never shown this much emotion before.

"Mako-chan, are you alright?" he asks as I sob tearlessly into his chest. It takes a minute for me to calm down, and then I push away, looking solemnly into his eyes.

He looks down at me—it's strange to feel so small—and waits for my answer.

"It's just too much anymore," I whisper, knowing that the wind will carry my words to his ears. "I want to be normal again."

"You are normal, Mako-chan," he replies, placing comforting hands on my shoulders.

I shake my head. "No, not normal for me. Not at all. I feel like I'm going crazy, unless I already am and at any moment someone will notice and chuck me in the loony bin. I feel like I'm dying inside. There's a part of me that's…missing…and I want it back. I want _me _back." I look up at him, realizing what I just said. "Gomen. I shouldn't have burdened you with my problems. They are not yours to ponder, Seiya-kun."

Seiya shakes his head. "Come on. We need to get out of this rain, and then we'll talk. I know we're not the greatest of friends, but maybe that'll help. You can use general terms."

I nod, but I don't wish to get out of the rain—or talk about my mental sanity. Particularly, I don't want to see everybody, because "everybody" includes Minako and Taiki-kun, the very sources of my problem.

Correction: another source of my problem lies behind me, in his "humble" wooden shack. So, my choices are as follows: go with Seiya-kun to see Usagi-chan and the others, or go back and live with Sempai, who I don't like for reasons that must stay in the black corners in my mind.

I grab Seiya-kun's arm, and let him lead me from the darkness of the forest into an even darker future.

* * *

**Author's Sign-off**: Stay tuned for the next episode of **_Drops of Jupiter_**! 


	10. A Dark Memory

**Author's Greeting** and **Random Info**: Moshi-moshi! So, this one's a little late, I know, but I was working diligently on the new chapter of _Memories of Serenity_. Go check it out!  
Okay...I've had a lot of favorite authors and favorite stories and story alerts in the past week or so, but no new reviewers. Why is this? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's nice that you like my story enough to favorite it and all that, but I want to know what you like about it, what I can do better (because I'm not perfect, and never will be), and suggestions or questions you might have, that sort of thing. In short, review, please.

**Disclaimer**: Today's lyrics are from "Big Girls Don't Cry" by Fergie. It's the only song I like from her.

* * *

**Chapter Eight  
A Dark Memory**

_The path that I'm walking, I must go alone,  
I must take the baby steps till I'm full grown.  
Fairy tales don't always have a happy ending, do they?  
And I forseek the dark ahead if I stay..._

Seiya-kun leads me out of the woods to a small shelter, right at the edge of the evergreen forest. It's bright, and made of stone, not like Sempai's "humble home."

The door slowly opens as we draw nearer, and I hold my breath. _Easy_, I have to tell myself. _You are Kino Makoto, the strongest of the Inner Senshi, and you will not be afraid of anything._

I release Seiya-kun's arm, and walk into the shelter independently. Immediately, I hear a shriek of, "Mako-chan!!!" and suddenly, the breath is knocked out of me, and all I can see are bouncy ponytails.

"Odango-chan, be easy," Seiya-kun comes to my defense. "Mako-chan has just recovered from her ordeal."

"Ordeal?" Usagi-chan lets me go, and I find a bench to sit on, to gain my breath back.

I slowly look around the room, and my eyes automatically find Minako. Taiki-kun is not here, but everyone else is, so my eyes slide to Minako's clear blue orbs. She blinks in concern, and bites her lip. I look away.

"Where is Taiki-kun?" I ask, and Usagi-chan glances warily at Seiya-kun, who gazes at Chiyoko-chan, who peeks at Yaten-kun, who stares at Minako, who looks at Ami-chan, who blinks at Setsuna-san, who inclines her head towards Haruka-san, who stares intensely at Michiru-san, who in turn looks at Rei-chan, who has her eyes closed.

All of a sudden, Rei-chan's amethyst eyes snap open, and they are glazed over with reflections of nonexistent flames. Her hands come together to form different signs as she gazes into nothingness. My palms begin to sweat.

And then, quite quickly, the moment is over; Rei-chan blinks and her eyes regain their normal piercing stare. "He is near a small clearing, where there is a tiny wooden shack that looks quite shabby. Smoke is coming out of the small chimney, and it looks like someone lives there…"

I blink, and then gasp, "Sempai-kun…"

"Sempai?!?" Usagi-chan, Rei-chan, Ami-chan, and Minako shout together.

Minako speaks next. "It can't be…"

I nod, too shaken to respond. After all that Sempai has done to me, I really don't wish for him to meet dear, sweet Taiki-kun.

Abruptly, a torrent of images floods my head and my eyes glaze over as I revisit those horrid days…

_

* * *

I am thirteen, the year before I transferred to Azabu Juuban Junior High School and became a senshi. I have a boyfriend who is an upperclassman in High School, and this makes me slightly more tolerable in the eyes of my classmates. I call him Sempai-kun, and he calls me Hanako-chan. It seems like the perfect storybook romance._

_That is, until one stormy night._

_Sempai-kun has asked me to come over his house. I accept, and quietly leave my apartment, locking up carefully before I go, and boldly stepping out into the rain which has comforted me since I was small. I walk two streets over, to where my beloved Sempai lives, and open the door, inviting myself in._

_It is dark. Very dark. My senses flare, and the little red flags rise in my brain, telling me to get the hell out of there._

_But I cannot, for suddenly, his husky voice is behind me. "Welcome, Hanako-chan," he whispers in my ear, and fear shivers down my spine as I hear the distinctive click of the door being shut._

"_S-sempai-kun?" I ask, hoping that he'll reassure me, that everything will be alright. "What's going on?"_

"_Everything's fine, Hanako-chan," his voice takes on a soothing tone, but there is still some note in his bass voice that scares me._

_All of a sudden, my back hits the wall painfully, and icy hands are on my legs. I try to squirm, but I am weak in this moment. My mind screams in agony, but I cannot vocalize this; his mouth is suddenly on mine, his teeth grinding my teeth, his icy hands on my legs, sliding upward slowly. I gasp as he reaches my knees…and keeps going._

"_S-sempai-kun…" I whimper, breaking away from his steely kiss._

_As quick as lightning, he drops me, and I curl up on the ground, trying not to cry. He pushes me over, and then lands a kick to my bottom that elicits a shriek of pain and terror from me._

"_Bitch!" he shouts at me, and I crawl away when he turns. If only I can get to the door…_

_No such luck. He grabs the back of my uniform, lifts me up as if I weighed nothing, and hurls me across the room. I hear something crack as I hit the wall, and pain sears through me. But I have no time to lie still; his eyes glitter at me from the darkness, and he is coming closer. Instinctively, I try to back up…but I am against a solid surface._

_I have nowhere to run._

_As he slowly nears me, I pray to whatever gods there are that I would be saved. I feel a sudden surge of reassurance, and lightning flashes in the sky as I feel something crack behind me. Realization dawns on me; I am up against a window._

_Fervently, I slam the heel of my hand against the window once, twice, three times. Each time the window cracks even more, and I can feel it sagging under my weight. I smash my hand into the window a final time….but nothing happens._

_I try again quickly, my fearful eyes never leaving the brown glitters in the darkness. Nothing._

_Frantically, I lift my booted foot, putting all my might behind it, and crash it through the window, and suddenly I'm falling…falling…_

* * *

"Mako-chan!"

Her voice. My blonde angel.

I slowly open my eyes to find that I am horizontal, and there are soft sheets around me again. Two different sets of eyes stare at me in concern: one sapphire, and the other clearest blue.

"Mako-chan, daijobu-ka? You just kind of…" Usagi begins.

Minako finishes, "Zoned out. We thought you'd been locked in your mind again."

_Locked in your mind._

Is that what I am? Locked in my mind? Is this why I'm confusing fantasy, no matter how nightmarish, with reality?

I used to like being alone in my apartment. I used to like being left alone with my thoughts to brood on. But lately, my mind is not a safe haven anymore. 

It's a prison.

* * *

**Author's Sign-off**: Stay tuned for the next episode of _**Drops of Jupiter**_! 


	11. Memories, Dreams, and Reality

**Author's Greeting**: Moshi-moshi! I'm sooooo sorry for not getting this up sooner, but my life has been a wreck lately, and I'm finally starting to get back on track when my computer decides it's going to get THREE Trojan horse viruses...-grr-  
So anyway...here's the long-awaited Chapter Nine. I think either next chapter or the chapter after will be shoutouts. Keep a lookout!

**Disclaimer**: Today's lyrics are from "Face Down" by the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

**Just So You Know**: The long italicized part is Mako-chan's dreams, obviously. Every new paragraph is a fragment of a different dream, alternately between the Minako dream and her Sempai dream.  
_Okaa-san_ means _Mother  
Demo_ means _But  
Nani? _means _What?_

* * *

**Chapter Nine  
Memories, Dreams, and Reality**

_Do you feel like a man when you push her around?  
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?  
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's gonna end  
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found..._

My dreams resume that night, playing over and over until I wake in a cold sweat, fearful of every shadow that touches my skin. It's not just my Minako dream, either. Broken memories of that fateful night with Sempai also swim around the soupy mess that is my mind.

_I smell the sea…_

_Hard hands push me into my apartment door, which I couldn't get unlocked in time. "You try to run away again, bitch," he spits in my face, "and I'll make it your last living moment."_

_"Onegai…" she whimpers tearfully. "Onegai, Mako-chan!"_

_I am terrified, but not terrified enough to stop fighting. I kick my leg forward, my thigh smashing into his crotch. He drops me unceremoniously and bends double in pain. I try to fish out my keys, but I can't find them anywhere._

_I am the one with the most control over her existence at this moment._

_"Looking for these?" He growls, and I hear the jingle of keys. My keys. I look up at his face, at the keys dangling in front of his joyous snarl. I am frozen for one moment too long; he's grabbed me and slammed me against the wall again, his icy hands sliding quickly up my skirt._

_I can choose to release her, and let this fragile soul end its life…_

_I refuse to back down. "No!" my voice screams, and thunder booms above us. He takes one second to look up at the sky, and that gives me enough time to bring my hand up and send my fist flying at his face, quick as lightning. He stumbles back and hits the balcony railing. I snatch my keys, my fingers automatically finding the right one, and unlock my door quickly, utilizing what little time I have while he's stunned._

…_or I can use the last of my strength to pull her up, in which case the cliff would probably crumble and we'd both die._

_Just before I am completely in the house, a hand catches my ankle. I trip and fall flat on my face, producing a nosebleed. At this time, I release all inhibitions I may have had. I begin screaming bloody murder. Unfortunately, no one will hear me, because of the storm. Even my closest neighbors will attribute my shrieks to whistling wind. I am trapped._

_I am the one with the power. I can either save or destroy a life._

"_You are now mine, Hanako-chan," he murmurs savagely into my ear, and my eyes widen in fear. The scream is wrenched from my raw throat by some unknown powers, "NOOOOOO!!!"  
"MAKO-CHAN!!!"_

I suddenly wake, screaming, _"I never wanted this!"_ with all my might.

Abruptly, I am silenced by water, of all things. Somebody has splashed me with cold water. "Mako-chan," I hear a worried voice. "Daijobu-ka?"

My throat is raw; I cannot speak, so I attempt to drink some of the water that landed in my mouth. There is none left; I cough and sputter a series of harried questions. "Who's there? Where am I?"

"It's only Usagi," the innocent voice speaks, and it resonates in my mind. "And you're still in you're apartment, Mako-chan. I thought you might want some company, though, so I told Okaa-san that I was sleeping over here." Usagi babbles, but her voice helps me calm down.

"Taiki-kun?" I whisper, putting a wealth of questions into his name.

Usagi-chan's eyes widen, and a hand gently pushes me onto my back. "You need your rest, Mako-chan. Don't worry."

Impatiently, I brush my friend's small hand away and sit up. "I want to know where Taiki-kun is."

Usagi-chan hesitates. "Mako-chan…"

I blink; it must be bad. Really bad…

"We can't find him. Rei-chan can only track him when he's conscious. Even Michiru-san can't find him, even though she has the Submarine Mirror and all…" Usagi-chan babbles, but I don't listen.

"Taiki-kun…" I murmur, and Usagi-chan looks up. "he's still with Sempai."

"Nani?"

I look Usagi-chan in the eye. "Taiki-kun is still with Sempai. That's the last place Rei-chan saw him, and if he never left willfully, then he's still there. Oh, Kami-sama…" I throw the blanket off of me and grab some clothes. "I need Minako."

"We need to get everyone!" Usagi-chan says, bounding after me.

I whirl around, giving Usagi-chan a hard stare. "No! You can't come. The others can't, either. This is a mission for Minako and me alone."

"Demo…Mako-chan…"

"You won't be able to do anything, Usagi-chan. Please, forget we had this conversation." I turn to go…and trip over a small white shape on the ground.

I hear a grunted, "Mako-chan…" coming from under my legs, and I quickly roll over and stand to let Artemis breathe.

"Artemis, what are you doing here?" I ask the white cat.

He fixes his green eyes on me. "Minako is gone."

I stare at him. "She's…gone?" I blink in shock. "Where?"

"The little wooden shack that Rei-chan mentioned earlier. She means to see what's going on."

My eyes widen, and my hand tightens on something cold and hard. I look down to see my senshi wand, which finishes materializing and glows warningly at me. "She can't! Sempai will ruin her like…"

My unspoken words hover in the air. _Like he almost ruined me._

"Artemis, we have to get her before she reaches that shack!" I pause before hurrying out the door. "Usagi-chan, don't let any one worry about me. And, whatever you do, don't come after us."

"But…"

"No, Usagi-chan! Let's go, Artemis!" I say to the cat, and he precedes me out of the apartment.

The storms have lifted, but the sky is hidden by dark, ominous clouds. I whisper a prayer to Juno, urging my spiritual father to keep Minako and Taiki-kun safe.

As physically weak as I am, I still run strongly, racing out of town, towards the evergreen trees that line the edge of the forest. Artemis falls slightly behind, but I do not stop; I need to stop the crime before it happens.

A flash of blonde hair. Frantically, I shriek, "Minako! Stop!"

She does not hear me. Artemis adds his cries, but she is too far ahead. I pump my long legs faster, hoping to reach her before she reaches the clearing…before Sempai sees us…

All of a sudden, there is a strong pain to my scalp; someone's grabbed a fistful of my hair, halting me immediately. I struggle, grabbing at my hair. Another arm swirls around my chest and pins my arms to my sides, rendering me almost powerless.

Almost.

I raise my leg to slam the booted foot into my captor, and immediately I am face down on the ground, the wind knocked out of me. Dragged up again by my hair, I hear a familiar steely voice that chills my bones.

"Haven't I told you before that if you ran away from me again, I'd make it your last moment?"

* * *

**Author's Sign-off**: Why has Minako gone running off to Sempai's cottage? Who has Makoto captive? What's wrong with Taiki? Find out in the next episode of _**Drops of Jupiter**_! 


	12. Preparation

**Author's Greeting**: Moshi-moshi! I know I haven't been getting these up as quickly as we'd all like, and I apologize for that. My life has been pretty hectic, and I don't always have the time to just sit down and write. So, here's Chapter Ten (finally!) and I want good reviews so I can post a shoutouts chapter!

**Disclaimer**: Today's lyrics are from "Stand in the Rain" by Superchick.

**Just So You Know**: Yes, I am attempting to pull myself out of a rut here. I just didn't want to hate Sempai so much! He's too beautiful to hate!  
Remember, Sempai did **not **rape Makoto. He only tried. (Besides, if I put rape in here, I'd have to bump this up to rated M)

* * *

**Chapter Ten  
Preparation**

_So stand in the rain, stand your ground  
stand up when it's all crashing down.  
Just stand through the pain, you won't drown,  
and one day what's lost can be found  
You stand in the rain..._

"S-sempai…" I find myself whispering to the hush of the night. With my heightened powers, I sense his evil smile, just beside my ear. I also catch a hint of…something. Something definitely flecked with bad. Kami-sama, is this what Rei-chan feels like all the time?

He laughs malevolently, and I catch a whiff of his scent…it's so familiar…just like…like that night…

I sway a bit, almost losing my balance, but he has a hold on my ponytail. He kicks me, and my knees buckle, landing me in the mud again, with him on my back. "Get off of me!" I scream, rolling over onto him. I slam the heel of my hand into his rib and feel him cough and splutter in pain as I roll off him and stand. I see a white shape dart in front of me, and call, "Artemis!"

He looks back, shouting, "I have to get Mina-chan!"

I nod, starting to run after him; before I make one full step, something grabs my ankle and I fall face-first on the ground.

It's like déjà vu, all over again.

I roll frantically, raising my knees and crashing my booted foot into Sempai's chest…but he is suddenly not there.

"Nani?" I gasp, sitting up. Suddenly, I feel my hair being tugged again, and I grunt slightly at the pain, but my eyes do not water; I am used to this sort of pain.

"Now," he whispers daggers in my ear. "Let's go see about your friend, shall we?"

* * *

As I am slowly dragged back to Sempai's house, the memories do not cease; I am not only Sempai's prisoner, but also a prisoner of my own thoughts. 

_Five weeks after Sempai's attempted rape of me, there is a knock on my apartment door. I look out the peephole in the door, not daring to unlatch the chain or undo the locks._

_It is Sempai; I see nothing but one big familiar brown eye. I shout shakily, "Go away!"_

"_Mako-chan, please, listen to me."_

"_No!" I duck away from the peephole._

_He knocks again. "Mako-chan…"_

_I peer out again. He is turned away, his head pointed down. "What is it? Have you come to finish your job?"_

"_Mako-chan, don't be like that…" He looks at my eye. "I want to talk."_

"_We can talk like this."_

_He blinks. "No, we can't. Please let me in. I don't want your neighbors hearing this as well."_

_Yeah, like I'm going to let you corner me in my own home. "My neighbors aren't home, so you're in no danger of being overheard. I'm not letting you in here."_

"_Mako-chan…I'm sorry for what I tried to do. What I did. I…wasn't myself that night."_

"_Like hell you weren't."_

"_Why can't you trust me?"_

_That does it. "Why can't I trust you? You beat me, you cornered me in your home, made me break a window to escape, you hit me…You tried to rape me, you fucking pervert! Give me a good reason why I should trust you!"_

_I have struck a nerve; he sinks to the ground, out of my sight. For a long time, he doesn't speak. Finally, just as I think he's gone, I hear his soft voice, "…You're right. You're absolutely right. I've been heartless to you, my little flower. I crushed your dreams, frightened you beyond belief. And I'm not even fully aware of what I've done."_

_I am shocked. "Nani?" I blink, and then say, "Were you drunk or something?"_

"_No…I…" he starts to stammer. "I don't know…exactly how it happened, Hanako-chan, but…on stormy nights, I become…well…not myself. Half the time, I don't even remember what I did that night."_

_This is too strange to comprehend. "You're lying."_

"_No, Mako-chan, I'm not!" He stands and looks at me. "Please, Mako-chan, you must believe me!"_

"_Why?" I said. "This is too strange. What, am I supposed to believe that you're some sort of…stormy-night-werewolf?"_

Stormy-night werewolf.

I had thought it way too strange that day, but, then again, I hadn't believed I was a Sailor Senshi either. I hadn't believed in Sailor Jupiter.

Could it be true, then? Could he really be some sort of monster?

A new thought comes to my mind: could it be a youma possessing him? After all, we just got done fighting Galaxia and her minions, and then the Alternate Dimension Senshi…

I try to twist around to look at Sempai, but he only yanks my hair harder and kicks me. "Don't move."

"What did you do to Taiki-kun?!" I shout at him, my voice just barely rising over the noise of the sky. It is about to storm again. I can feel power beginning to surge through me.

"Don't worry, Taiki is still alive. And your friend will still be alive by the time we get there."

Just alive. Not unhurt. A sick feeling gathers in the pit of my stomach. I realize that I told Usagi-chan and the others not to come. There will be no rescuing.

I remember the Mind Meld, and the lasting effect it had on me. Maybe I can contact Rei-chan and Chiyoko-chan. I close my eyes, just as Rei-chan always instructs me, and focus everything I have to my mind, to increase its sensibility. I "hear" nothing but the whispering voices of the old oaks and evergreens, the flighty gossip passing between flowers and blades of grass.

I curse to myself and at my inability to use my mind properly. If I had trained as hard with my mind as I do with my body, this wouldn't be an issue.

A raindrop, deliciously cold, plops onto the tip of my nose, and raw power courses through my veins as lightning streaks through the sky.

Suddenly, I feel him. Jupiter, the mighty god of thunder and my senshi father. He is the one who instilled power in the little maidservant's girl in the Royal House of Jupiter, in a time when the king and queen had no heir. He is the one who taught that girl how to sing to flowers, to dance with the trees, how to whisper encouragement to the tiny blades of grass. He taught that girl how to become as powerful as the booming thunder, yet delicate as the fragile rose. And even though that girl perished in the war of several millennia ago, she is reborn as Kino Makoto, also known as Sailor Jupiter, the mighty warrior of Jupiter. I have Jupiter's guidance, his teachings, and his power stored up within me. I realize in that moment that though I may fight alongside no one else, I am never truly alone.

The thunder crashes in the sky, and Sempai stops to stare at the stormy gray clouds. Jupiter whispers to me through those booms of thunder and the flashes of lightning, and I read his message well.

This is the beginning…the beginning of the final storm. Titans will clash, blood will be shed, and someone will die. I, Sailor Jupiter, the daughter of Jupiter, god of thunder, must be prepared for this epic battle. I must be prepared for pain.

I will be prepared.

I will stand and fight.

And I will win.

The final storm begins, releasing its fury on the world.

* * *


	13. The Final Storm

**Author's Greeting**: Moshi-moshi! Here's another one for you, because I won't be on tomorrow (I have to finish up a project for school...)

**Disclaimer**: Today's lyrics are from "Never Alone" by Barlow Girl

**Just So You Know**: Sempai's house it set up like this: there's a main room, in which his bed, his couch, and his little kitchen all lie. Then there's a little hallway, with a workroom on the left and a store room on the right. When it all starts, Jupiter and the monster are fighting in the hallway and main room. Taiki was hidden in the store room, and that's where he transformed into Star Maker. Hope that helps!

* * *

**Chapter Eleven  
The Final Storm**

_I cried out with no reply  
and I can't feel you by my side  
so I'll hold on to what I know  
You're here, and I'm never alone..._

I hear a door crash open, and I am roughly shoved into the little hovel that is Sempai's home. I let myself roll over to the bed, stopping just short of the wooden posts. Sempai stomps in after me, but I refuse to open my eyes. I will not look at him, or anything he may have here.

But that won't work for long; Sempai comes over to me and kicks me in the gut, forcing me to open my eyes and see where his next blow will be coming from.

Instead, I see one orange high-heel shoe, placed at the end of a long, smooth leg. Sailor Venus has been chained to the wall. It is she who kicked me.

"Venus!" I gasp, sitting up and staring at her angelic face. "What…"

Venus looks at me with pleading eyes. "I tried, Mako-chan, but he trapped me here. I don't know where Taiki-san is!"

I thrust my hand out, and my henshin wand appears in my right hand. "Shall I?"

Venus shakes her head. "He's still in the house. He'll hear you!"

I nod and stand, thanking Kami-sama that I wore the boots that don't click. I sneak over to a small hallway, and duck left into an even smaller room; Sempai's workroom.

I can hear him stomp down the hall, and fear freezes me to my spot. I don't want him to hurt anyone.

He reaches the main room, I suppose, and converses with Venus, who tells him that she doesn't know where I am. He curses and storms back down the hallway. Towards the room I'm in.

It's do-or-die moment. I can go out there and fight, or stay in here and get beaten to death. My henshin wand disappears and I shove open the door, placing myself firmly in the hallway. "You won't get away with this!"

He wolf-grins at me, and I see fangs.

Oh, Kami-sama. What the hell was I thinking, coming out here as myself?

Thunder booms overhead, and Sempai's eyes flash green. "You can't hurt me, dear Mako-chan. If you don't do as I say, I'll simply destroy you."

I am afraid to attack, afraid of hurting the Sempai I know. He's in there, somewhere, or else I would have been dead the moment he saved me from the forest.

I am frozen, staring into Sempai's vivid green eyes.

Wait a minute. Green? Sempai's eyes are not green. Nor are they so shallow and malevolent-looking.

Power surges through me again as lightning makes the whole house flash and flicker. This is not my Sempai. I have nothing to fear from hurting this monster.

My anger flares, and my henshin wand is in my hand again. Sempai-monster bares pointed eyeteeth, and suddenly his face elongates, and coarse fur sprouts all over his body. He is becoming a wolf-like monster.

I stare at him, horrified for but a second.

It is time.

Time for me to resurface as Jupiter's daughter.

Time for me to stand and fight.

"JUPITER CRYSTAL POWER! MAKE-UP!"

* * *

The monster growls savagely at me, but I am newly healed and stronger now that I am in my true form. I am not intimidated by this creature. 

Lightning streaks, thunder crashes, and the trees roar. All three give me power, raw energy that I can use.

The monster leaps at me, but I shout, "JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!"

My little leaf-shaped energy blasts cut into the monster, making it bleed and howl, but not slowly its attacks. Dodge, punch, jump, pounce, sidestep, kick, dodge again. I'm not gaining any sort of upper hand, and with a start I realize it is because both I and the monster receive power from the storm outside. We are equally matched.

"STAR GENTLE UTERUS!" A multitude of white energy balls fly towards the monster, knocking it over.

In a millisecond that lasts an eternity, I spin around, shocked by what I see. "S-sailor Star Maker?"

The wolf-monster growls at his new enemy.

Maker tried to take one step, but her legs weaken and she falls to the ground, her transformation ebbing away. I blink and turn, ready again to contend with the wolf I have on my hands.

As we battle it out, I glance at the space of wall where Venus is supposed to be chained to the wall…

But she has disappeared. The chains are also gone, and it's as if she never existed in that house.

The wolf clamps his jaw on my arm and I cry out with pain. I call upon Jupiter's lightning, and a small rod emerges from my tiara. "SUPREME THUNDER!"

The lightning channels through my system, charging through the rod and striking the wolf's head, making him release my arm with a whimper.

I look at my arm, measuring the damage: four puncture holes, two on the top, and two on the bottom. They are bleeding profusely, but it's not that bad. I can still use the arm.

"JUPITER OAK EVOLUTION!" I shout again, sending my leaves at the wolf, which nimbly dodges all but one. He isn't fazed, though, and comes charging at me again.

"Get away!" I scream, my booted foot flying towards the muzzled furry face. The wolf-monster catches my foot in its jaws, clamping down with razor sharp teeth. I gasp as it suddenly picks me up by my foot and hurls me around, sending me soaring into the wooden wall where Venus was. I crash into it heavily, but it doesn't crumble; Sempai knew what he was doing when he built this wooden shack.

The canine youma comes forward slowly, eyes glinting evilly, but it is limping from that last leaf blast; I severed something in his front right leg.

I am truly afraid, for the second time in my life. I am battle-weary, bleeding, and cannot use my left foot. The wolf, however, looks sturdy enough to finish the job, right here, right now.

I fear for my life.

Taiki is unconscious in the back, and Venus is nowhere to be found. Jupiter is concentrating on the storm, and paying no attention to me.

This time, I am truly alone.

I make one last desperate lunge for the wolf, determined not to die cowering in the corner. Warm skin, rough fur, sharp teeth piercing skin, and cold metal.

Metal?

"VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!"

* * *

**Author's Sign-off**: Where was Venus? Why wasn't she helping? Will Makoto come out on top in this battle? Find out in the next episode of **_Drops of Jupiter_**! 


	14. SHOUTOUTS 2

**Author's Greeting**: Moshi-moshi! So, this is another shout-out chapter. I am deliberately placing this here, to delay the next chapter from going up. Sadistic pleasure of the author to torture her readers.

To **AnimeLover5995**: Haha, it's okay to hate Sempai-kun right now. I did while I was writing that passage. I was sitting there chouting at my screen, "Damn you, Sempai!!!!! How dare you hurt my favorite senshi!!!" But then I decided to twist my original plotline around a bit, because Sempai-kun's just too cute to hate. You'll see!  
Oh, and your comment on the line "It's a prison." I reread that chapter just the other day, and I was like, "Wow. That's really powerful. Way to end the chapter on an ominous note, Katsu-chan!"  
about the Juno thing... o.o are. you. SERIOUS? I messed them up AGAIN?! I'm really sorry...I'm fine with Greek mythology, knowledge-wise, but I mess up their Roman names all the time. I shall go back and fix it all.

To **l-annethunder**: -evil smile- I delay the next chapter (which is, by the way ready) for this lol. I know, I'm such a mean, suspense-building author.

To **Elara**: Once again, thank you for the positive reviews! it encourages me!

To **Canon Fodder**: Oooo! A brand new reviewer! First, welcome to the madness, oops, I mean story! Second, call it sadistic pleasure with the short chapters. I'm also trying to see if I can write concisely but still weave an interesting storyline. From these reviews, I think it's working!

To **LadyNightfyre**: Another new reviewer! (Or else one I haven't seen in a while... ;)) Welcome to the story! I was planning to go one direction with Sempai-kun...but I think another, better door has opened. Thanks for your positive review!

And, of course, we save the best for last...**babygirl14**: Wow, did you drop off the earth again??? No offense, my fangirl lol. But, I never tried to be crafty. But, I figured, why not have a different Starlight make an entrance, instead of Taiki-kun.  
Oh, and you questioned about my name? If it helps, just call me Katsu. It's not my real name, but I like it 'cause it's pretty.  
NO WAY!!! I say uber too!!!! omg you need to stop being like me its scary.

**Author's Sign-off**: Well, be on the lookout for the next "bite-sized cliffhanger" (quoted from Canon Fodder) of **_Drops of Jupiter_**! Also, for those of you who don't know, I have two other stories (**_Eternal Starlight_** and **_My Heart Will Go On_**) composed of short chapters, and a brand new one, with longer chapters, in-progress (_**Memories of Serenity**_). If you want, you can check those out!  
And, I'm getting a hit count of over 1500, but only **Canon Fodder** and **LadyNightfyre** are the brave ones to review. Why is that? Fix the problem, please!  
Well, stay tuned for the next episode of **_Drops of Jupiter_**! See ya!


	15. Into the Night

**Author's Greeting**: Moshi-moshi! I am REALLY sorry I didn't get this up sooner. There's been a bunch going on, with midterms, and research papers due, and friends needing me to help them...I meant to let this go for like a week, to build suspense, but not this long. I hope I haven't disappointed anyone.

**Disclaimer**: Today's lyrics are from Superchick's "Beauty From Pain." They own it, not me. Takeuchi Naoko-sama owns Mako-chan and her crew, unfortunately, and not me.

**Just So You Know**: I never read the SM manga. So, this whole Inner Senshi Eternal forms thing is new to me. I'm making it up as I go along.

* * *

**Chapter Twelve  
Into the Night**

_The lights go out all around me  
One last candle to keep out the night  
And then the darkness surrounds me  
I know I'm alive but I feel like I've died  
And all that's left is to accept that it's over  
My dreams ran like sand through the fists that I made  
I try to keep warm but I just grow colder  
I feel like I'm slipping away...  
_

"VENUS LOVE-ME CHAIN!"

Cold metal circles around my body as I fall limply to the ground. "Venus?" I gasp. "Where have you been?"

She gives me a hard stare, and pulls the chains tighter. They are digging into my flash, leaving little heart-shaped impressions on my arms and legs.

The wolf growls at me, opens its mouth, and speaks, "Good work, Venus."

"Venus…" My voice pleads with her, but my eyes are searching, seeking for something…something I can use…

Very suddenly, I am pinned to the wall, held there by Venus' chains. The wolf gets up on two legs and stares at me, eyeing me up as Venus just stands off to the side, watching.

"Venus!" I shriek, trying to get through to her. A part of my brain is disgusted with my behavior. I am Makoto, the daughter of Jupiter! What need have I of some blonde nitwit?

The wolf draws closer, its teeth grazing my neck, slowly, tortuously. I don't think; I only react subconsciously. The lightning rod shoots out of my tiara and in a flash of green lightning, the wolf is thrown back, injured by my accident show of power. The chains loosen.

Venus is suddenly at my throat, holding me tight against the wall. "Don't even think about it, Jupiter."

"Venus…" I gasp slightly. "Why…"

Venus looks at me, and for one full second, makes complete eye contact. Vivid green orbs stare at me out of Venus's angelic face. My eyes narrow.

"SUPREME THUNDER!" Venus is blown back, slammed against the opposite wall. Her chains fall and fade, and I collapse slightly against the ground. The wolf is just starting to stand.

I run over to Venus, quickly, and pick her up. She opens her eyes, which are slowly fading from green back to their usual crystal clear blue, and then closes them again. I turn with her in my arms…and face Sempai-wolf.

He leaps at us, knocking me back, causing Venus to roll away, unconscious. It bounds over me, using my stomach as a springboard. I cough as the air is knocked out of me, but I roll over and run after the beast. Venus must be protected.

I pounce, landing on the creature's back, making it collapse with a grunt of pain. Roughly, it shoves me off and whips a paw at me, leaving shallow but long gouges in my arm. I growl and run at it, calling on Jupiter's lightning just before I hit it.

Sempai-wolf flies back, me with him, and we crash through the wooden wall on the eastern side of his house. I tumble into the mud immediately, but the wolf is still airborne, flying a few yards away before hitting the ground with a thump.

We are in my natural element now. I can feel the raw power surging through me, as if I were a giant electrical tower. Makoto Electric Company. I'm certainly tall enough.

Unfortunately, a shred of memory comes alive in me. _"I don't know…exactly how it happened, Hanako-chan, but…on stormy nights, I become…well…not myself. Half the time, I don't even remember what I did that night."___

This is too strange to comprehend. "You're lying."  


"_No, Mako-chan, I'm not!" He stands and looks at me. "Please, Mako-chan, you must believe me!"  
_

_"Why?" I said. "This is too strange. What, am I supposed to believe that you're some sort of…stormy-night-werewolf?"_

Stormy-night werewolf.

We are also in Sempai-wolf's element. He is sharing Jupiter's power with me. This is going to be one hell of a battle.

Sempai-wolf stands, and all I see are green eyes, glaring malevolently at me. Fear courses through me.

He lunges, and I throw up my hands, punching him in the gut. He snarls and changes direction, heading down along my arm to get to me. The sound of ripping fabric is heard, and when I stand, I feel blood dripping down my almost-bare back.

It's not easy to rip a Senshi fuku. The wolf did it with ease, and didn't even look injured when I punched him. The fear escalates into terror.

"Mako-chan!" I hear her voice.

"Stay back! Get away!" I scream, hurling myself desperately at the wolf. "Venus, stay in there!"

"STAR GENTLE UTERUS!"

"VENUS LOVE AND BEAUTY SHOCK!"

Two shapes of energy, one a heart, and one a stream of circles, battle to be the first to reach the wolf. First to protect me.

It's like my life as of late. Minako versus Taiki-kun, every single time. Even if they never fought in their lifetimes.

But the wolf stares in fear at the two attacks reaching for him, and the green eyes flash to brown in that instant. He is still Sempai, the Sempai I love.

I leap in front of him, my arms spread, crying, "NOOO!"

Both attacks, from Venus and Maker, hit me at the same time, sending me flying off in a world of agony. I never knew that pain would hurt so much, especially physical pain. I try to hold up against it, try to stay alive, but I feel my body breaking, crumbling against the immense wall of suffering that is smashing relentlessly against me. My mind reaches feebly out, and encounters the trees…

"MAKO-CHAN!!!!" I hear Venus's voice, weakly. I can't pull back, though. Can't find enough grounding to bring me back to reality, to life…

"Makoto."

I open my eyes. It's like the Senshi Meld…except I am surrounded by white, not green. A tall, muscular figure stands in front of me, his auburn hair flying in the wind. He is dressed in an emerald green toga, and has a lightning bolt brooch.

"J-jupiter-sama?" I stutter, surprised. He nods, and holds out his enormous hand. Lying in the palm is a lightning-bolt-shaped brooch with the sigil of Jupiter on it. I stare at it in awe.

"Take it," Jupiter says. I comply, my hand shaking.

"You will be Eternal. The first of the Senshi to achieve it. You need the extra power for this final storm."

"But, Jupiter-sama…" I gaze at the glowing thing in my hand. "I can't do this. I can't fight Sempai."

He looks at me sternly, but his eyes betray a fatherly concern. "You must face hard problems in this lifetime, Makoto. Do not fear what you must do, no matter what it is. I promise it will all be okay."

I nod, and he disappears. All of a sudden, the white fades into the forest, where I am sitting in the mud, my fuku ripped and worn. My gloves are missing, and my hair is disheveled. Venus is standing a few feet away. Maker is pinned underneath Sempai.

The wolf turns to look at me, and I see green. Sempai doesn't reside there anymore. And he is hurting my Taiki-kun.

"Get away from him!" I shout running quickly at the creature.

"Mako-chan!" Venus cries.

Just then, I remember the brooch in my hand. I will need the power, Jupiter said. I stop, close my eyes, and call upon the power within me. Raising the bolt-crystal above my head, I shout, "JUPITER ETERNAL! MAKE-UP!"

* * *

**Author's Sign-off:** Will Makoto win? What will happen to Taiki, Minako, and Sempai? Find out in the next episode of _**Drops of Jupiter**_! 


	16. Murder

**Author's Greeting**: Moshi-moshi! Well, are you ready for it? Today, I'm finishing this off!

**Disclaimer**: Today's lyrics are from "Drops of Jupiter" by Train. They own it, not me.

**Just So You Know**: Again, I haven't read the manga, so no flaming about the "proper" forms of an Eternal Senshi. I made it up as I went.

* * *

**Chapter Thirteen  
Murder**

_Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star  
One without a permanent scar  
And did you miss me while you were looking at yourself out there..._

"JUPITER ETERNAL! MAKE-UP!"

The brooch opens, and green beams of energy shoot out of it, surrounding me. The brooch attaches itself to my chest, firing lightning bolts that blossom like flowers into a bodysuit, a sailor collar, and my chest bow. I spin around, my skirt and back bow flying out and fanning appropriately. Pink rose petals whoosh out of the brooch, circling around my arms, legs, and head. The sigil of Jupiter glows on my forehead, and I do a few fighting poses before ending in my customary stance.

"J-Jupiter!" Venus stammers in surprise.

I take a second to look at myself. My fuku is much the same, other than the skirt, both bows, and the gleaming brooch on my chest. My skirt is now tiered in three layers: the bottommost emerald green, the next white, and the topmost rosy pink. The bow at my lower back is a shimmering green, the ribbons cascading halfway down my legs. The bow on my chest is the same material, though it's missing ribbons. The lightning-bolt brooch shines brightly in the center. Forgoing a tiara, the sigil of Jupiter glows on my forehead, and my hair is now neatly pulled back in its usual ponytail. My sleeves have changed, but not much; they only became puffy and green, rather than nearly-nonexistent.

The most prevalent change is the raw power flooding through me, making me much more confident. I will defeat Sempai-wolf. I will save Taiki-kun and Minako.

The wolf, however, has different ideas.

It snarls, and lunges for me, missing by millimeters. I whirl around, not daring to turn my back on the thing by running to Taiki-kun. He can wait.

Lightning strikes. The wolf howls as we both feel a fresh wave of power come through. It rears onto its front legs, becoming slightly more humanlike as it does. It looks now like a freakish werewolf-type monster, with glowing green eyes. My own eyes narrow.

Just as I have become Eternal, so has the wolf been upgraded. I find myself thinking that if this is Jupiter-sama's idea of a joke, I don't find it funny at all.

Sempai-wolf leaps powerfully towards me, and I have no time to react; he slams me squarely in the gut, knocking the air out of me and pushing me to the muddy ground.

Desperately, I try to shout, "SUPREME THUNDER!" But nothing happens. The energy which would have been channeled through the lightning rod in my tiara can go nowhere, because I have no tiara and therefore no lightning rod.

"Jupiter!" Venus cries, and the wolf rolls off of me and faces her, its eyes glowing green. It howls, and then opens its gaping maw wide towards Venus. An immense sphere of energy colored as green as the thing's eyes gathers quickly and fires towards Sailor Venus, whose crystal-blue eyes widen in surprise.

"VENUS!" I scream, running as fast as I can to her, trying to beat the beast's attack. But I slip on the muddy ground, falling flat on my face, and even though I know its over, I pick myself up and run anyway, racing to defeat the odds.

The ball of energy strikes her angelic face, and her screams are all I hear, reminding me oh-so-forcefully of the fateful dream. A flash of blonde hair flies in front of me, and the green ball explodes, lighting up everything within a mile of the cabin.

"VENUS! Tears flood my eyes, but I can't let them spill. I push through the flying debris and climb carefully towards Venus.

She has been de-transformed, her body losing the energy it needed to keep her as Venus. Minako lies limply on the ground, her form marred by numerous scratches and other bleeding wounds.

I fall to my knees, an Eternal Senshi…broken. "Minako…"

"Mako…chan…" I hear faintly, and look over at her crystal blue eyes, which are halfway open.

"Minako…" I place my gloved hand on her face, wiping away a trail of blood on her cheek.

It's as if we were sitting in her room, talking as old friends. A surreal universe surrounds us, where there is no Sempai, no Taiki-kun, no final storm, and no rivalry between us. There is only Minako and Makoto, best friends for eternity.

She coughs. "How…how is…Taiki-san?" She whispers, the wild wind carrying her words away so that I have to lean closer to hear.

"He'll be alright. He's a strong one, Taiki-kun. He'd have to be in order to survive Galaxia."

"And his own cooking," Minako smiles slightly.

I laugh. "You're one to talk, Minako. You're almost as bad as Usagi-chan."

Minako glances away, blinking. "Are you sure Taiki-san is alright?"

"He's fine, Minako."

"Are you sure?"

I raise my eyebrow. "Are you alright, Minako? You're never this concerned about anyone. Taiki-kun is fine."

"Good," Minako says, and her voice takes on an evil tone. I look at her eyes, and gasp when I see their color…green, just like Sempai-wolf's. "Because you're not going to be fine once I'm done!" She growls and suddenly my breath is cut off. Her slender hands, stronger than they look, are throttling my neck, trying to seriously kill me.

I squint my eyes, wanting the pain to go away. All of it: physical, mental, emotional. I'm tired of being hurt, tired of being tossed aside, tired of being pulled in the middle. Lightning strikes, thunder cracks, and Minako screeches as the hands leave my neck quickly. I open my eyes.

Minako has been flung away, probably by an unconscious show of force from me. I am kneeling in the mud, my hands hanging limply at my sides, the sigil of Jupiter glowing on my forehead. It fades, until only an empty shell of the Senshi I am is left.

Pain explodes up my back, and I'm facedown in the mud for the umpteenth time tonight. I roll, toppling Sempai-wolf as I do. Anger courses through me, and with it, power in a ready-to-use format. I clap my hands together and slowly pull them apart, an oval of webbed lightning coursing between my fingers and hands. My brooch opens, and little leaf-shaped energy forms add themselves to the web. The sigil on my head glows as I lift the oval up, a tornado of energy swirling inside. "JUPITER!" I begin, and the oval grows bigger and hotter as the lightning increases.

"FLORA!" I scream, and pink rose petal-shaped energy balls materialize in the oval.

"EXPLOSION!" I finish, throwing the entire mass at Sempai-wolf, who stares at it, green eyes flashing to brown in fear.

For an instant, I think about the consequences, and time seems to slow down. When the attack hits Sempai-wolf, he/it will be obliterated. There will be no more Sempai, no more reminder of the times that were. Those memories will be pushed to the black closets in my mind, never to be called upon again.

I will murder, and forget everything.

My hand extends, as if to stop the blast, but then I remember: I condemned Sempai to death when he became that monster. There is no Sempai, only the manipulative beast which has been playing with my mind every since I arrived. Every resumes normal speed as I stare into the creature's eyes with grim determination set in my face.

"SEMPAI!!!" Minako screams, running forward. But she is far too late.

The ball strikes the wolf, and its howl of agony is the last sound it makes. When the flash clears, there is only the broken body of Sempai, my former lover, lying in the mud, undeniably dead.

Minako collapses beside me, her entire form flashing a green aura. She lies there for a moment, and an orange aura shows itself as well. For tense minutes, the orange of Venus and the green of the creature battle it out within her until, suddenly, it stops. I do not know which won at that point.

She looks me in the eye, and tears start to leak out. "I'm sorry, Mako-chan. I'm so sorry." And she turns and runs.

"Minako!" I cry, wanting to leave her go, but not wanting to see her leave. Then I remember where I am, and that I know this forest better than anyone. Minako has run in the wrong direction. She'll hit the cliff and fall into the ocean that lies so far down.

"Minako! Wait!" I shout, running after her. I have to save her before her broken mind leads her to kill herself. This is my last chance to do something right with her, to gain her friendship back. I can't let it pass.

I take off in the same direction Minako headed, forgetting about the murder scene I've left behind, forgetting about Taiki-kun, forgetting everything but the blonde angel I'm chasing.

* * *

**Author's Sign-off**: Stay tuned! 


	17. Symphony of Tears

**Author's Greeting**: Moshi-moshi! Second one for you!

**Disclaimer**: Once again, today's lyrics are from "Drops of Jupiter" by Train.Thought it'd be nice to finish out the story with the title song.

**Just So You Know**: There IS an epilogue. Read it!

* * *

**Chapter Fourteen  
Symphony of Tears**

_Tell me did the wind sweep you off your feet  
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day  
And head back to the Milky Way  
And tell me, did Venus blow your mind  
Was it everything you wanted to find  
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there..._

"Minako!" I shout running as quickly as I can through the storm, which is easing up. My power is slowly fading as Jupiter-sama lets up on his relentless pounding of the earth. I know I have done a good job up until this point.

Now I just need to finish it off.

I reach a living wall of brambles and bushes, and I know I've reached the end of the forest. I open my mind to the plants, listen to their voices, and ask the shrubs to move aside for me. I have no time to lose.

The bushes in front of me part to make a clear pathway to the cliff. I run along it, thanking them as I go. "Minako! Wait!"

And then, blinding sunlight reaches me through a break in the clouds; while the battle had been going on in the woods, morning had come, and with it the bright sun. I shield my eyes, but it's made all the brighter by the sand-colored stone it's reflecting off of. And the shock of beautiful blonde hair that acts as a reflecting surface.

Minako stands at the very end of the cliff, her arms limp at her sides, staring out over the ocean, which extends to the horizon. She stands there without purpose, a fallen angel, her blonde hair whipping around her.

"Minako…"

She turns, and the shadowed look in her eyes will haunt me for many years to come. "Mako-chan…I've…I've hurt you. The very person who's dearest to me is the one I've hurt the most. I'm…I'm sorry…" She closes her eyes, holding back tears.

The thunder and lightning fade completely by that point, and my Eternal fuku fades; I am brought back to the reality of my beaten, bruised body. My own form cannot hold Eternal at this point. I do not realize this until later; I just run up to Minako, wanting to comfort her.

She brushes my hand away, her shoulders shaking. Soon her whole body is trembling. "M…Mako-chan…" She gasps. "The…the creature…Sempai…"

"What about him?" I ask, peering at her tortured form. She looks as if she's struggling to stay herself, fighting something within her.

Desperately, she grips my shoulders, her fingernails digging into my skin. "It didn't die. You didn't kill the Youma. Akuma still lives."

"Akuma?" I ask, gasping slightly. The thing named itself Demon?

She nods, and her eyes flash to green for just an instant. "I…can't hold on…Akuma lives…in me." She stares at my face, and becomes frustrated with my ignorance. "Don't you see? If you destroy Akuma's host, it'll die! It won't have another unwilling host!"

I realize what this means. "No, Minako."

Her blue eyes widen, and she loses control. Her eyes change rapidly to vivid green, and then back to blue. "Nani?"

"I won't kill you, Minako. I….I can't." I hold up my hands, imaginary blood smeared all over them. "I've already had to murder someone I love tonight, and it put you and Taiki-kun in extreme danger. I…" I grab onto her hands. "I don't want to lose someone else today."

Minako clings desperately to me. "Mako-chan, you must! It's the only way to get rid of Akuma!"

I shake my head.

Something hardens behind Minako's eyes, and they flash green for a long moment before she fights her way back. "Fine. If you don't," she backs away, towards the edge of the cliff. "Then I will."

She takes a few backward steps…

"MINAKO! NO!"

…but before she can take the last step, the edge of the cliff crumbles beneath her and she shrieks, involuntarily reaching an arm up…

I fall forward on my stomach, my right arm reaching down automatically, my left bracing me against the new cliff edge. I close my eyes tightly, praying fervently to Jupiter-sama, hoping that I make it in time…

* * *

"Mako-chan, help me!" The voice calls. I open my eyes and look around, hear the oceanic sounds: seagulls, waves, wind.

The cliff, again. Only this time, it's not merely my dream. I will not wake from this nightmare.

"Onegai…" her voice pleads softly, but there is something behind the voice that I don't like. I look down. Just like the dream—which I realize just that moment was a prophecy—our hands are interlinked. My decision will either save her life…or destroy it.

I glare into green eyes set into an angel's face. "I can't forgive what you've done to me, demon."

The eyes flash blue, and Minako speaks. "Mako-chan…"

Before Akuma fights its way back, I look at her with sorrowful eyes and let one tear—just one—drop down my cheek, falling on her perfectly proportioned face. My very first true tear since my parents died. A small part of me regrets that it was wasted on my one true enemy…my best friend.

Suddenly, I hear stone crack, and I slide forward, letting out a subconscious scream as the cliff begins to crumble beneath me. I hold tight, though, and her fingers are still laced with mine. Suddenly, Usagi's face shows up in my mind, clear determination set on her features. I think of what she would do in this situation. Suddenly, I know what I will do, though I know it will be my last act of kindness.

My right arm tenses, and I push up with my left arm, lifting and swinging Minako around and behind me. There is little time; I work quickly, making sure she is safe. Another crack, and my eyes widen as I realize that it won't hold long enough for me to stand and run. The very ground beneath me disintegrates, and I tumble, tumble…

I see the ocean, far away.

I see the cliff behind me, rushing away.

I see Minako's crystal blue eyes, an arm reaching down. "MAKO-CHAN!!!" the haunting scream comes, and I know it is fear of death; not her death, but mine.

I realize I am going to die for the ones I love.

I see the ocean, reaching up for me, welcoming me into its abyss.

The cliff, flying faster away from me.

Minako, holding something that glitters. I recognize it, but can't place a name to an object.

The ocean, coming up faster and faster…

Suddenly, my descent is stopped. I hang there, a hundred feet over the sea, and it growls impatiently at me.

I twist awkwardly to look up, and see a thin chain of golden hearts, looped around my left ankle, stretching up into the sky, it seems.

"Mako-chan!"

Minako.

Slowly, tortuously slowly, I am pulled up by the thin lifeline of golden hearts. I fear this slow ascent, knowing that at any moment, Akuma could take over her body and send me dropping back to the sea.

As I near the cliff top, I start to go faster, and I don't know if it's because Minako got an extra burst of strength, or if I'm really that light.

Finally, a hand circles my waist, drawing me up and away from the edge, where it's safe for now. I roll over and stand slowly, my legs trembling. My transformation fades, leaving me simply as Kino Makoto, the tomboy who loves cooking and flowers.

Minako flashes with a green aura again, and then it fades and some huge green shape emerges from her body, making an eerie noise as it flies up and dissipates with the breeze. She is left standing strong, her blonde hair floating around her like a golden halo.

At a crawling pace, I stumble towards her, looking to comfort and be comforted. I look into her tear-rimmed eyes, which hold her entire soul behind them now, and one look was all it took to send the tears flooding down my face, crying into her shoulder. She wraps her arms around me, and together we collapse into the dust, clinging to each other, and I'm crying a symphony of tears; the sweet drops of Jupiter falling from my eyes, healing all the painful experiences I've been through, making the barren ground of my soul whole and fertile, causing a single pink rose to sprout up and grow.

I know now that everything will be alright between Minako and me. I know that once again, Venus and Jupiter are joined together in a never-ending friendship.

And the storm finally disappears, leaving no evidence that it had ever been.

* * *

**Author's Sign-off**: Make sure to read the epilogue! 


	18. Epilogue

**Author's Final Greeting**: Here's the epilogue. This was a great little story to write, and I enjoyed it. I hope you guys did too. Stay tuned for _**Memories of Serenity**_!

* * *

**Epilogue  
Aishiteru**

"It's so easy holding you near,

I could melt in your arms, and disappear…"

Again at the piano, singing my heart out, except that this time I'm working on improving myself. Minako promised she'd help me work for the next idol audition the Three Lights are holding, and I want to try. At least I have nothing to lose by going out there and showing them my best.

_All I want to know  
Is when you go  
Do you think of me  
Cause I could let you go  
But there'd be a hole  
Where my heart used to be_

I take it to the chorus again, and a voice joins me, weaving in beautiful harmony.

_It's so easy holding you near  
I could melt in your arms and disappear  
Loving you baby is breaking my heart tonight  
It's so easy but it isn't right…_

Smiling, I end it, and look up into deep blue eyes. "How are you today, Taiki-kun?"

He smiles sloppily, quite unlike the prim manner I'd sensed when we first met him and the other Starlights, so long ago. "Much better. Yaten said I could get up today."

There is a large bandage around his waist and chest, a few around his arms and one leg, and one wrapped around the top of his head, encasing his ponytail. His right leg is in a cast, and he hobbles closer on crutches.

"I'll say it again, Mako-chan. Your voice is beautiful."

I shrug. "I've been working hard for the audition coming up."

"No, the raw voice, even without the work, was beautiful." He pauses before continuing, "As are you."

I blush slightly and look away, but he comes closer, his crutches clicking on the linoleum floor, and takes my chin gently in his hand. I let him pull my face up to look at him, and suddenly his lips press against mine in the sweetest-tasting show of affection I've ever experienced in my life. It's better than any dessert I've ever baked.

He pulls away and whispers, "Aishiteru, Mako-koi."

I smile easily, something I haven't done in quite awhile. "Aishiteru, Taiki-chan."

My hands are suddenly on the keys again, playing through the chorus of "It's So Easy" again. I start humming along towards the end, and Taiki-chan joins me in singing the last line full-out:

_Baby, it's so easy…_


	19. SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! PLEASE READ!

**AN ANNOUNCEMENT**

**_Drops of Jupiter_ and all of my (Andromeda Star's) stories are on the Rewrite List, which means that I am planning on retouching them, polishing them up, and fleshing out storylines and characters even more. Hopefully, once these stories return, you, the readers, will enjoy them even more than you do now.**

**The only exception to this is _Test of Time: Kannazuki no Miko_ because it is on hiatus while I work on other projects.**

**Please leave suggestions for further development in the form of a review, and sit tight while I go through the Rewrite List.**

_~Andromeda Star~_


	20. ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER TWO! READ!

**Author's Note:**

I am back and in action once again! After extensive mapping and listmaking and development, I feel my writing talent is better than ever and I am finally ready to begin rewriting my four Sailor Moon fanfictions: Eternal Starlight, My Heart Will Go On, Drops of Jupiter and Memories of Serenity. The little stories you enjoy will be revised and renewed for further enjoyment! As such, my list is as follows:

The Rewrite List  
1. _Memories of Serenity_ - It is the most complex, most challenging fanfic of mine to date, and also the easiest because it is set so far in the future and therefore does not interefere with any individual anime episode development like the other three. I will rewrite and tie up the chapters I have before continuing this as I rewrite the others.  
2. _Eternal Starlight_ - This is the next challenging one and also the one that introduces my favorite OC, Chiyoko-chan. In order to correctly rewrite this one, I will have to go over the Stars season again, to make sure I'm weaving it in correctly.  
3. _Drops of Jupiter_ - This is just...wrong. I'm going to go through and fix Makoto's character, as well as Taiki's and Minako's, solidify the storyline a bit, and remove any plotholes, unneccessary detail, or OOC-ness. Drops of Jupiter is still intended to be short, just better.  
4. _My Heart Will Go On_ - This will be fairly easy after Eternal Starlight is finished. Pretty much it will be shaping up characters and tying in the storyline to Eternal Starlight. Possibly, I may add a short bit at the end, sort of a sequel introducing the Silver Moon line mentioned in Memories of Serenity.

Please refrain from pestering me about updates. I will post each chapter as it is revised and perfected to the best of my abilities.

I'm so excited to revisit these! XD

_-Andromeda Star_


End file.
